Alex Joers
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 79th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byDianne Hesselbein
Member of the Dane County, Wisconsin, Board of Supervisors from the 9th district
Assumed office
April 2020
Preceded byPaul Nelson
Personal details
Born1992 (age 31–32)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Kathryn Sikora
​
(m. 2018)​
Children1
Residence(s)Madison, Wisconsin
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–La Crosse
OccupationCommunications
WebsiteCampaign website

Alex Robert Joers (born 1992) is an American communications professional and Democratic politician from Dane County, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 79th Assembly district since January 2023. He is also currently a member of the Dane County board of supervisors.

Biography

Alex Joers was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and moved to the neighboring city of Middleton as a child. He graduated from Middleton High School and earned his bachelor's degree in political science and public administration in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.[1] While in high school, Joers was a cross country athlete and for many years taught classes at the gym owned by his parents.[1] Since 2022, he has also been employed as a program manager for AMPED Association Management, a company which provides management services to non-profits. Joers' clients include the Society for Research on Adolescence and the American Physical Therapy Association.[2]

Political career

Joers' political activities began while in college, when he worked on campus get out the vote projects. After graduating from college, he was employed as a legislative aide to state senator Jennifer Shilling and state representative Melissa Agard. He then worked in fundraising for the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee, and joined state senator Julie Lassa's 2016 re-election campaign. After the 2016 election, he became a full time legislative aide to state representative Dianne Hesselbein, and then in 2019 he was promoted to Hesselbein's communications and policy aide.[1]

In 2020, Joers ran for his first public office, under the auspices of the national Run for Something campaign which seeks to get more young candidates to run for public office.[3] He was unopposed running for the Dane County board of supervisors in an open seat and was re-elected without opposition in 2022.[4][5]

In December 2021, Dianne Hesselbein announced she would run for Wisconsin State Senate in 2022, and would therefore not run for re-election in Wisconsin's 79th Assembly district.[6] Just after the Spring election in 2022, Joers announced his campaign for the now-open Assembly seat.[7] He also later said that he was inspired to run for the office, in part, by the outpouring of support from the Middleton community after the death of his father.[8] He defeated Madison small business owner Brad Votava in the Democratic primary, with 76% of the vote.[9][10] In the general election, he faced Waunakee nurse Victoria Fueger, who had also run as the Republican candidate in 2020. Joers prevailed with 74% of the vote in the heavily Democratic district.[11]

He will assume office in January 2023.

Personal life and family

Alex Joers was the eldest of three children born to Bob and Cindy (née Reinerio) Joers of Milwaukee. Bob Joers was athletic director at Middleton High School for many years.[12] The Joers established The Little Gym of Middleton—a franchise children's gymnastics and recreational facility—in 2004.[1] Bob Joers was a popular figure in the Middleton community; he died of pancreatic cancer in 2020.[12]

Alex Joers married Kathryn "Katie" Sikora in Windsor, Wisconsin, in 2018. They live in Madison, Wisconsin, with their 2-year-old son. Alex and Katie met while students at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.[1]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2022)

Wisconsin Assembly, 79th District Election, 2022
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Primary, August 9, 2022[10]
Democratic Alex Joers 7,474 75.98%
Democratic Brad Votava 2,356 23.95%
Scattering 7 0.07%
Plurality 5,118 52.03%
Total votes 9,837 100.0%
General Election, November 8, 2022[11]
Democratic Alex Joers 24,469 74.11% +6.98%
Republican Victoria Fueger 8,514 25.79% -6.98%
Scattering 32 0.04%
Plurality 15,955 48.33% +13.96%
Total votes 33,015 100.0% -25.42%
Democratic hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "About Alex". Alex Joers for State Assembly. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Joers joins AMPED as Associate Director and Program Manager". AMPED Association Management (Press release). March 23, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Alex Joers - Dane County Supervisor, District 9, WI". Run for Something. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  4. ↑ Becker, Abigail (March 29, 2020). "Election Q&A: Dane County Board District 9". The Capital Times. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  5. ↑ 2022 Spring Election - County Supervisor District 9 - Official Canvass (Report). Dane County Clerk. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ Opoien, Jessie (December 16, 2021). "Dianne Hesselbein will run for Wisconsin's 27th Senate District". The Capital Times. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Joers Campaign: Alex Joers announces campaign for State Assembly". Alex Joers for State Assembly (Press release). April 25, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Wispolitics.com.
  8. ↑ Baumann, Roberta (October 22, 2022). "County supervisor, mental health nurse in race for Wisconsin's 79th Assembly District". DeForest Times Tribune. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  9. ↑ Escott, Gavin (August 4, 2022). "A rundown of the Aug. 9 State Assembly primary election". The Daily Cardinal. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Canvass Results for 2022 Partisan Primary – 8/9/2022 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2022. pp. 58–59. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Canvass Results for 2022 General Election – 11/8/2022 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 21, 2022. p. 27. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Joers, Bob". Wisconsin State Journal. May 23, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
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