Jessica King (Wisconsin)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Jessica King

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, 1998

Law

Thomas Jefferson Law School, 2001

Personal

Birthplace

Fond du Lac, WI

Religion

Christian

Profession

Attorney, adjunct professor

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Jessica King (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

King completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

King is a former Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing District 18 from August 2011 to 2013. She successfully defeated Randy Hopper (R) in a recall election held August 9, 2011, and she was sworn into office on August 26, 2011.

Biography

Jessica King was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. King earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1998 and a law degree from Thomas Jefferson Law School in 2001. She previously served as an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. King is an attorney and a former member of the Oshkosh Common Council. She has served as a member of the First Congregational Church in Oshkosh, the Oshkosh Rotary Club, Growing Oshkosh, the Wisconsin State Bar, the Wisconsin Law Foundation, and the American Bar Foundation.

Elections

2020

See also: Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District election, 2020

Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Democratic primary)

Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 6

Incumbent Glenn Grothman defeated Jessica King in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 6 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Glenn Grothman (R)	59.2	238,874
		Jessica King (D)	40.7	164,239
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	220

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 403,333
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 6

Jessica King defeated Michael Beardsley and Matthew Boor in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 6 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jessica King	75.9	38,043
		Michael Beardsley	15.8	7,896
		Matthew Boor	8.3	4,165
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	24

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,128 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Amy Washburn (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 6

Incumbent Glenn Grothman advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 6 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Glenn Grothman	99.7	52,247
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	153

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 52,400
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Melissa McClintick (R)

Endorsements

To view King's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

2012

King ran for re-election in 2012. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 14, 2012, and she was defeated by Rick Gudex in the general election on November 6, 2012. Unofficial results showed Gudex leading King by under 600 votes. King initially refused to concede the election, but she finally did on November 13, 2012.

Wisconsin State Senate, District 18, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jessica King Incumbent	49.6%	42,479
	Republican	Rick Gudex	50.3%	43,079
	-	Scattering	0.1%	90
Total Votes				85,648

2011

King announces her campaign for senate

See also: Recall of Wisconsin State Senators (2011) and Randy Hopper recall, Wisconsin State Senate (2011)

King narrowly defeated Hopper in the recall election.

King announced on April 13, 2011, that she would run against then-incumbent Senator Hopper, if a recall was approved. On April 7, 2011, 23,946 signatures were filed to recall Hopper.

Signatures were filed against nine different state senators in Wisconsin, while a total of sixteen were originally targeted for recall. On May 23, 2011, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board rejected Hopper's challenges to the petition, clearing the way for a recall election to be held July 12, 2011.Efforts by GOP officials put John Buckstaff on the ballot as a Democratic candidate, forcing a primary between Buckstaff and King, which delayed the actual recall election by four weeks. Hopper said he would have liked the recall election to happen as soon as possible.

Supporters of Hopper began distributing flyers in the district to get out the vote for Buckstaff in the primary on July 12, 2011. The flyer described King as a "Pro-Union Extremist" who would put unions first "even if it bankrupts Wisconsin." Meanwhile, Buckstaff was described as "Pro-Wisconsin," saying he would "eliminate special privileges for government unions." The flyer was paid for by a group called "Patriot Advisors."

King issued a statement in response, saying, "It is simply astonishing that the Wisconsin Republicans are so desperate they feel they need turn out voters in the fake primary. The GOP continues to resort to more dirty tricks because they know the voters are responding positively to my message that public servants must stand up for working families and seniors rather than big corporations and the wealthy elite."

Debates

Hopper and King met in a candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Winnebago County and Oshkosh Community Media Services (OCMS) on July 18, 2011. It was open to the public and streamed live online.

The debate offered little in the way of surprises, with Hopper defending his record and King focusing on education, labor issues, and benefits for seniors.

The following day both campaigns issued press releases declaring victory. Hopper stated, "The debate showed two contrasting views on how we should govern here in our state. There’s my approach where I have reduced taxes, balanced our budget, and have focused on job creation here in Wisconsin. Or there is the tax and spend policies of Jessica King."

Meanwhile, King stated, "I promise to fight for students, the elderly and middle class families, not big corporations and the extremely wealthy. This debate showed how I will bring a positive message, honest leadership and an ability to work together to the Wisconsin Senate in order to solve the challenges facing the state today."

July 12 Democratic Primary

King defeated Buckstaff in the primary.

July 12 Democratic primary
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Jessica King a		19,562	68.21%
John Buckstaff		8,995	31.37%
Scattering		120	0.42%

August 9 recall

King defeated Hopper in the recall.

August 9 Recall - District 18
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Jessica King (D)		28,191	51.1%
Randy Hopper (R)		26,937	48.83%
Scattering		42	.08%

Ad controversy

King called on Hopper to stop airing a TV ad, which alleged she voted to raise her salary while on the Oshkosh Common Council by 63 percent. His campaign refused the request and stood by the ad. King says she voted against the 2008 ordinance, which is confirmed by city records. Records also indicate that the raise would have been 56 percent, not 63 percent. PolitiFact gave the claim a “Pants on Fire” rating.

The ad wars continued with another PolitiFact investigation released July 26, 2011, this time dealing with claims made against Hopper in an ad by King.

The TV ad in question, released on July 12, 2011, stated that “Senator Hopper didn’t pay taxes,” while the middle class did, citing an October 2008 article in the Fond du Lac Reporter as the source. Records from the state Department of Revenue show that Hopper’s five businesses did not have any state income tax liability between 1998 and 2007, and during that period Hopper himself only had a tax liability in 2006, which he appeared to have paid. PolitiFact gave the claim a “Barely True” rating.

Polling

Conducted June 23-26

August 9, 2011 Recall - District 18 - Daily Kos/PPP Poll
Candidate	Party	Percent
Jessica King	Democratic	50%
Randy Hopper	Republican	47%
Undecided		3%

Conducted August 5-7

August 9, 2011 Recall - District 18 - Daily Kos/PPP Poll
Candidate	Party	Percent
Jessica King	Democratic	48%
Randy Hopper	Republican	49%
Undecided		3%

Campaign contributions

Jessica King Campaign Finance Reports (GAB ID No. 0104608)
Report		Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions	(Expenditures)	Cash on Hand
Special Pre-Election		August 1, 2011	$190,646.50	$96,372.32	$(180,939.96)	$106,078.86
July Continuing		July 5, 2011	$0.00	$221,931.60	$(31,285.10)	$190,646.50

Official reports

• July Continuing Report, July 5, 2011
• Special Pre-Election Report, August 1, 2011

2008

On November 4, 2008, King lost to Randy Hopper (R) in the race for Wisconsin State Senate District 18.

Hopper collected $237,854 in donations for his campaign, and King collected $209,112.

Wisconsin State Senate, District 18 (2008)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Randy Hopper (R)		41,904	50.05%
Jessica King (D)		41,741	49.86%

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jessica King completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by King's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am the Vice President of Clinical Denials at RSource Healthcare, a nation- wide company that represents hospitals and their patients in pursuit of payment for wrongfully denied medical bills. I have previously served in the Wisconsin state legislature as state senator of district 18, including parts of Dodge, Fond du Lac and Winnebago counties. While in the Wisconsin legislature I served as Chair of the Workforce Development, Job Training and Technical Colleges committee. I also served as a member of the Education and Corrections committee, the Labor, Public Safety and Urban Affairs committee, the Agriculture, Forestry and Higher Education committee, and the Legal Revisions committee.

I previously served on the Oshkosh Common Council as a member and Deputy Mayor. During these 2 terms the Council recruited a new city manager, started the city's strategic plan cycles, created a sustainability committee, supported investment in public infrastructure including renovation of the Oshkosh Convention Center, the Grand Opera House and breaking ground on Oshkosh's River walk.

Originally from Fond du Lac, my family has called the 6th Congressional District home for 6 generations, and I am proud to have been raised by dairy farmers, a disabled American Veteran, and a machinist.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We need a healthcare system that working families and small employers can afford.
• U.S. citizens should not have to pay the highest prices in the world for medications.
• Reviving the rural economy is our path to sustainability, and our planet depends on it.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

For the last 7 years I have represented hospitals and their patients against health insurance companies and government payers to overturn wrongfully denied medical claims. I have recovered millions of dollars annually that keep hospital doors open. I have depth of knowledge about revenue cycle, reimbursement rates and claims practices.

There are three essential components at the core of the health care: 1) access; 2) affordability and 3) quality of care.

Reimbursement rates for services need to have a population density component for select services in rural areas. 20 of Wisconsin's 72 counties do not have an OBGYN. Rural women are at a disadvantage. We have to find a way to incentivize or expand health providers in rural areas. Telemedicine will not ensure that expecting mothers will receive ultrasounds. As a woman who carried a high-risk pregnancy and was blessed with a healthy son. I can tell you these services are critical.

The United States has the 3rd largest population in the world, we should receive a volume price discount, rather than being the people who pay the highest prices for medication. Deaths from hypertension, diabetes and heart disease are preventable if people can see their doctors and afford their medication. 3 out of 10 people are not taking their prescribed medications correctly because of cost

If you want affordable medications and rural care, you need to vote for someone that will advocate for price negotiation and rural access.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Lived experience is fundamental. I believe that my previous experience as a local elected leader gives me valuable perspective. I believe my experience in assisting small businesses, farmers, and families during the housing crisis and the Great Recession gives me perspective. My time as a chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee for the U.S. Department of Justice gives me perspective on the balance between creditors and debtors. Representing hospitals and patients to recover payment on wrongfully denied health care bills has given me lived experience that would be helpful during a critical health care reform debate.

I also believe being raised by 2 disabled parents and having spent time as a ward of the state of Wisconsin is valuable lived experience. I believe being a working parent is valuable lived experience. I understand the balance between opportunity, hard work and accountability better than most people serving in Congress, and that is the kind of person I would like to represent Wisconsin's 6th District.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first summer job was pulling weeds in strawberry patches. I progressed to running grain sweeps in corn bins and working in a scale house.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book changes every couple of years. My current favorite is Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances. Leland Melvin's story is inspiring and honest. I think we need to hold up heroes that demonstrate resilience. Without giving away the plot, his story keeps me motivated to pursue responsible government.

In 2008, I lost an election by 163 votes out of 83,645 in an area it was thought by political insiders impossible for me to get elected.

In 2011, I became the 4th person in the history of Wisconsin to win a recall election. It was my pleasure to serve over 170,000 Wisconsin residents from Wisconsin's 18th District.

In 2012, in a post Citizen's United world, with a new gerrymandered district with an added 400 Republican voters, I got outspent by millions of dollars by outside special interest groups, and only lost by 600 votes out of 85,648.

In 2019, I decided to seek public office again because I believe that Wisconsin people truly need a representative in Wisconsin's 6th District that will work to build a strong, sustainable future. Now that 2020 has brought a pandemic and a recession, we need an experienced problem solver at the table even more.

Leland Melvin's story is about resilience, and as a regular person trying to battle outside, political money, I appreciate his never give up approach.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

My father was a 100% service connected disabled veteran. He struggled with bi polar disorder and PTSD. My father met my mother during his inpatient treatment. My mother was receiving treatment for schizophrenia. My parents were incredibly loving and supportive of me within their capacity, but there were times when they needed care and could not provide for my basic needs. I am incredibly grateful to the local community, and the local, state and federal leadership who made sure I had access to opportunity. I want to make sure that public policy continues to create pathways for hard working people to succeed.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I support a criteria based approach performed by a nonpartisan body of civil servants. The legislature must vote to adopt the maps without amendment, with the same nonpartisan body redrawing the maps if the legislature votes the first ones down. The criteria I support are: contiguity, consistency with natural and political boundaries, and compactness.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes, I believe local government service is beneficial. As a former Common Council member in Oshkosh, WI, I learned a lot regarding municipal budget process, strategic planning, and department cooperation. As a member of the Wisconsin legislature I gained valuable experience and understanding of the interrelated and interdependent relationship between federal, state, county and local government. A representative must have working knowledge of these structures in order to create strong policy.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Representative Tom Petri. I voted for Tom Petri even though he was a Republican because I knew he was earnt, smart, considerate of all people, and that he wanted to make this district the best it could be. He understood that it was part of his job to make sure that our federal tax dollars actually returned to this district by way of infrastructure projects.

The Veteran's museum on highway 41, the Fond du Lac train overpass on Johnson St, the Wisconsin St. bridge in Oshkosh are just a few of the things that come to mind. We desperately need to get back to having a representative works hard to build coalitions and build support for our community infrastructure.

As a Republican, Tom Petri supported healthcare reform to achieve universal access to healthcare, stem cell research, affordable student loan reform, and legislation supporting in the arts and development of heritage.

As a young local elected member of the Oshkosh Common Council, I appreciated the opportunities I had to speak with Representative Petri. He was approachable and respectful.

Representative Petri was a true statesman and I have always thought of him as a role model.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

---

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

---

Jessica King campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2020	U.S. House Wisconsin District 6	Lost general	$295,057	$252,835
Grand total			$295,057	$252,835
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Biography from Project Vote Smart

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Randy Hopper (R)	Wisconsin State Senate District 18 August 26, 2011-2013	Succeeded by Rick Gudex (R)

[show]

Wisconsin's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tammy Baldwin (D)

Ronald Johnson (R)

Representatives

District 1

Bryan Steil (R)

District 2

Mark Pocan (D)

District 3

Derrick Van Orden (R)

District 4

Gwen Moore (D)

District 5

Scott Fitzgerald (R)

District 6

Glenn Grothman (R)

District 7

Tom Tiffany (R)

District 8

Tony Wied (R)

Republican Party (7)

Democratic Party (3)