Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.
Randy Hopper
| Randy Hopper | |
 | |
| Wisconsin State Senate District 18 | |
| Former member | |
| Term in office began 2009 | |
| Term in office ended August 9, 2011 | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | Radio Station Owner |
Contents |
Hopper is the owner of Mountain Dog Media, a company that owns prominent radio stations in the South Fox Valley region including KFIZ-AM 1450 and 107.1 KFIZ-FM.
Hopper earned a BA in history from Denison University in 1989. He received his MBA from Kellogg Business School, Northwestern University, in 2002.
District
The 18th State Senate District consists of major cities of Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Waupun.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Hopper served on these committees:
- Economic Development and Veterans and Military Affairs, Chair
- Education
- Energy, Biotechnology, and Consumer Protection
- Finance
- Joint Committee on Finance
- Joint Committee on Tax Exemptions, Co-Chair
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Hopper served on these committees:
- Children and Families and Workforce Development Committee, Wisconsin Senate
- Education Committee, Wisconsin Senate
- Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing Committee, Wisconsin Senate
- Small Business, Emergency Preparedness, Technical Colleges, and Consumer Protection Committee, Wisconsin Senate
- Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties
- Special Committee on Strategic Job Creation
Sponsored legislation
Recent legislation sponsored or co-sponsored by Sen. Hopper includes:[1]
- A bill excluding from taxable income gains from a Wisconsin business.[2]
- A bill to provide the public with more information about school district and state agency expenditures[3]
- A bill granting tax exemptions for businesses with worker wellness programs[4]
- A bill to limit the budget and decrease the deficit[5]
Elections
2011 recall
Hopper lost to Jessica King in the recall election.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin began a recall campaign targeting Hopper and 7 of his Republican colleagues in the Wisconsin State Senate in March 2011.[6][7] 23,946 signatures were filed with election officials,[8] and the Hopper campaign challenged them. [9]
On May 9, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board verified 23,127 signatures, 15,269 were necessary to force a recall. Hopper challenged the petitions, citing missing paperwork as well as the possibility of hundreds of invalid signatures. The Board heard arguments on May 23[10] and rejected most of the challenges. The GAB officially certified the recall election on June 3. This cleared the way for a recall election to be held July 12.[11] However, since multiple candidates filed, a primary was held July 12 with the recall election on August 9.[12]
Opponents
Oshkosh attorney Jessica King announced on April 13 that she would run against Hopper in a recall.[13]
John Buckstaff, a Republican supporter, ran as a protest candidate in order to necessitate a Democratic primary between himself and King.[14] Hopper had said he would have preferred the recall election to happen as soon as possible.
| July 12 Democratic primary[15] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Jessica King 
|
19,562 | 68.21% | ||
| John Buckstaff | 8,995 | 31.37% | ||
| Scattering | 120 | 0.42% | ||
On August 9 Hopper lost to King.
| August 9 Recall - District 18[16] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Jessica King (D) 
|
28,191 | 51.1% | ||
| Randy Hopper (R) | 26,937 | 48.83% | ||
| Scattering | 42 | .08% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Randy Hopper was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate District 18. It was a slim victory in the open seat. [17]
He collected $237,854 in donations for his campaign.[18]
| Wisconsin State Senate, District 18 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Randy Hopper (R) | 41,904 | 50.05% | ||
| Jessica King (D) | 41,741 | 49.86% | ||
Campaign donors
2010
According to records available as of May 17, 2011, Hopper raised $58,656 during 2010, a year he was not up for election. Listed below are the top 5 contributors.[19]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Wal-Mart | $1,000 |
| Gary Sadoff | $1,000 |
| Wisconsin Society of Anesthesiologists | $1,000 |
| Maggie Murphy | $1,000 |
| American Family Insurance | $1,000 |
2008
|
|
In 2008, Hopper collected $237,854 in donations. *Finance, insurance and real estate interests were his largest donor group and most of the contributions were made by individuals.[18]
Listed below are the top four contributors to his campaign:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Randy Hopper | $22,000 |
| Northwestern Mutual Life | $5,000 |
| Gopac Wisconsin 2008 | $2,500 |
| Wisconsin Association of Health Underwriters | $2,300 |
Personal
Hopper is separated from his wife, Alysia, and has filed for divorce.[20] They have two children, Christopher and Isabella. Hopper is a native of Fond du Lac.[21]
External links
- Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions at Follow The Money
- Profile at Facebook
- Profile at Twitter
- Profile at Wikipedia
References
- ↑ Legislation
- ↑ Bill 28
- ↑ Bill 196
- ↑ Bill 56
- ↑ Bill 37
- ↑ "Recall the Republican 8" website
- ↑ AOL News, "Wisconsin Election Recall Reality Check", February 23, 2011
- ↑ Washington Post, "Recall momentum continues: Dems collect huge number of signatures to recall Randy Hopper," April 7, 2011
- ↑ Associated Press, "Petition filed to recall 4th GOP Wisconsin senator", April 19, 2011
- ↑ The Northwestern, "Independent state reviews of petitions to recall Republican State Senators Randy Hopper, Luther Olsen are valid," May 9, 2011
- ↑ FOX 11, "GAB clears way for 3 GOP recall elections," May 23, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Recall of Senator Randy Hopper Certificate of Sufficiency and Order," June 3, 2011
- ↑ FOX 11, "King to challenge Hopper in recall," April 13, 2011
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin GOP leaders encouraging colleagues to place fake Democrats on recall ballots," June 5, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "July 12 Primary Election Results District 18," accessed July 11, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "District 18 Recall Election Results," accessed August 19, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin State Election Results
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Follow the Money, 2008 contributors to Randy Hopper
- ↑ 2010 contributors to Randy Hopper
- ↑ Wisconsin Court System, Case Details, Randy Hopper
- ↑ Campaign website
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carol Roessler |
Wisconsin State Senate District 18 2008–August 9, 2011 |
Succeeded by Jessica King |
| |||||||||||||||||
