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Chuck Wichgers

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Chuck Wichgers
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byKen Skowronski
Constituency82nd Assembly district
In office
January 2, 2017 – January 2, 2023
Preceded byDavid Craig
Succeeded byNik Rettinger
Constituency83rd Assembly district
Personal details
Born (1965-07-04) July 4, 1965 (age 59)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMichelle (Hocking) Wichgers
ResidenceMuskego, Wisconsin
Alma materWaukesha County Technical College
ProfessionMedical sales, politician
WebsiteOfficial website

Chuck Wichgers (born July 4, 1965) is an American businessman and Republican politician from Waukesha County, Wisconsin.[1] He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 82nd Assembly district since January 2023. Prior to the 2022 redistricting, he represented the 83rd Assembly district for three terms (2017–2022).

Early life and education

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Wichgers was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Muskego High School in 1983 and attended Waukesha County Technical College 1984–1985.[1]

Political career

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Wichgers was a Waukesha County supervisor and alderman of Muskego (1999–2002).[1][2] He was first elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2016, from District 83.[1]

In 2017, he sponsored a controversial bill that would allow chiropractors to give physicals to student athletes. (Under current Wisconsin law, only physicians and physician assistants may do so.)[3] In 2021, he sponsored legislation to prohibit public schools from teaching students and employees about concepts such as systemic racism and implicit bias; the bill passed an Assembly committee on a party-line vote.[4]

In March 2020, Wichgers opposed a Wisconsin Department of Health Services rule that required seventh-grade students to get the meningitis vaccine, a key protection against bacterial meningitis. The proposal to oppose the changes was adopted on party lines in a committee vote.[5] October 2020, amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin, Wichgers was one of several Wisconsin Republican legislators who attended an indoor mass gathering hosted by an anti-abortion organization without wearing masks.[6] In August 2021, Wichgers delivered a speech to anti-vaccine mandate protestors at the Wisconsin State Capitol, at which demonstrators likened COVID-19 vaccines to genocide and tyranny.[7]

After Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, Wichgers was one of 15 Wisconsin Republican legislators (joined by 76 Republican state legislators from other states) who attempted to subvert the election result and block Biden's victory. On January 5, 2021—one day before a violent pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol—Wichgers signed a letter asking Vice President Mike Pence to delay the legally-mandated counting of the electoral votes for 10 days while they worked to convince Republican-controlled state legislators in key states won by Biden to overturn the election results, keeping Trump in power for another term.[8][9] On July 25, 2022, Wichgers joined fellow Wisconsin Rep. Tim Ramthun's effort to pass a bill that would have the state legislature decertify its results from the 2020 presidential election and recall Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes, which went to Joe Biden.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Representative Chuck Wichgers: Assembly District 83 (R - Muskego), Wisconsin State Assembly.
  2. ^ Mark Schaaf, Four vie for open state Assembly seat, Racine Journal Times, August 4, 2016.
  3. ^ Wisconsin bill would allow chiropractors to give physicals to student athletes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017
  4. ^ Mitchell Schmidt (September 23, 2021). "Republicans advance bill banning critical race theory in schools". Wisconsin State Journal.
  5. ^ Briana Reilly, New rule requiring Wisconsin seventh graders get meningitis vaccine faces GOP pushback, The Capital Times (March 6, 2020).
  6. ^ Riley Vetterkind, Amid COVID-19 surge, GOP lawmakers, including health chairman, attend indoor mass gathering, Racine Journal-Times (October 24, 2020).
  7. ^ Elizabeth Beyer & David Wahlberg, At state Capitol rally, protestors against vaccine mandates decry 'genocide,' 'tyranny', Wisconsin State Journal (August 11, 2021).
  8. ^ Patrick Marley, 15 Wisconsin Republicans asked Pence to block Biden's victory the day before the attack on the Capitol, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (January 14, 2021).
  9. ^ Adam Rogan, 15 state Republicans, including Wichgers, signed letter asking Pence to stall election count, Racine Journal Times (January 14, 2021).
  10. ^ Redman, Henry (2022-07-25). "Ramthun says third lawmaker has joined effort to decertify 2020 election results". Wisconsin Examiner. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
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Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 83rd district
January 2, 2017 – January 2, 2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 82nd district
January 3, 2023 – present 		Incumbent
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