Susan Engeleiter

Susan Shannon Engeleiter (born March 18 1952) is a member of the Republican Party who served as a Wisconsin State Senator from 1980 to 1989. She served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1974 to 1979. Engeleiter's districts consisted of most of Waukesha County, which included her birthplace/hometown of Brookfield. She is married and has two children.

Engeleiter graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1974, and received her juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin law school in 1981.

When she was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1974, Engleiter was, at age 22, the youngest woman ever elected to the Wisconsin Legislature. She served in the Assembly until January 1979, having decided against running for re-election in 1978 and instead seeking the open congressional seat being vacated by then-U.S. Rep. Bob Kasten to run for governor. Engeleiter lost the primary to then-State Senator Jim Sensenbrenner by 589 votes. Goldman, T.R., [http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1114851905519 "The Man With The Iron Gavel"] , "Legal Times" May 2, 2005]

However, Engeleiter made a comeback of sorts when she was elected in a special election to the Wisconsin State Senate in April 1980. In the Wisconsin State Senate, Engeleiter served as Assistant Minority Leader from 1982 - 1984, and as Minority Leader from 1984 - 1989.

1988 U.S. Senate campaign

Engeleiter ran an aggressive campaign for the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by William Proxmire in 1988.

In the primary election, she defeated State GOP Chairman Steve King in a close race. King had labeled Engeleiter a moderate while touting his conservative credentials. Engeleiter's victory allowed her to face Democrat Herb Kohl, former chairman of the state Democratic Party, in the November general election.

On November 2 1988, as polls showed Engeleiter and Kohl running neck-to-neck, President Ronald Reagan visited Milwaukee to headline a campaign rally and fundraiser for Engeleiter. [http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/110288b.htm] However, Engeleiter narrowly lost the race to Kohl by a 52-48 margin.

Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA)

After her defeat in the Senate race, newly-elected President George H.W. Bush nominated her in January 1989 to be the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and served in that position until 1991.

After leaving the SBA, Engeleiter moved to the western Wisconsin town of Somerset to take up a position at Honeywell, which was then based in Minneapolis. She later became President and CEO of Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) [http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2006/12/11/story3.html] , which is based in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

Electoral history

*1988 Race for U.S. Senate
**Herb Kohl (D), 52%
**Susan Engeleiter (R), 48%
*1988 Race for U.S. Senate - Republican Primary
**Susan Engeleiter (R)
**Steve King (R)

References