Samantha Kerkman
Samantha Kerkman (Republican Party) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 61. She assumed office in 2001. She left office on June 7, 2022.
Kerkman (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Wisconsin State Assembly to represent District 61. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Kerkman resigned on June 7, 2022 after she won election to a four-year term as Kenosha County executive.[1]
Kerkman was first elected to the chamber in 2012.
Biography
Kerkman is a member of Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce, Kenosha Area Business Alliance, Powers Lake Sportsmen Club, Randall Fire Department Auxiliary, Saint Alphonsus Catholic Church, Post 544- Twin Lakes American Legion Auxiliary, Twin Lakes Chamber and Area Business Association, and Auxiliary Post 5830- Veterans of Foreign Wars. Kerkman has previously worked as a legislative aide.[2]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: [email protected].
2021-2022
Kerkman was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Co-Chair
- Audit Committee, Chair
- Children and Families Committee
- Judiciary Committee, Vice Chair
- Ways and Means Committee
2019-2020
Kerkman was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Co-Chair
- Children and Families Committee
- Audit Committee, Chair
- Federalism and Interstate Relations Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Audit, Chair |
| • Children and Families |
| • Federalism and Interstate Relations |
| • Judiciary |
| • Ways and Means |
| • Joint Legislative Audit, Co-chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kerkman served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means |
| • Judiciary |
| • Interstate Affairs |
| • Children and Families |
| • Joint Legislative Audit, Co-Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Kerkman served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Audit, Chair |
| • Children and Families |
| • Judiciary |
| • Ways and Means, Vice chair |
| • Joint Legislative Audit, Co-chair |
2011-2012
During the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kerkman served on these committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Audit, Co-Chair |
| • Audit, Chair |
| • Financial Institutions |
| • Judiciary and Ethics |
| • Ways and Means, Chair |
2009-2010
During the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kerkman served on these committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Audit |
| • Judiciary and Ethics |
| • Ways and Means |
| • Audit |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2020
See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2020
General election
General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61
Incumbent Samantha Kerkman defeated Steve Kundert in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Samantha Kerkman (R) | 96.3 | 28,254 |
| Steve Kundert (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 8 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.7 | 1,090 | ||
| Total votes: 29,352 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61
Incumbent Samantha Kerkman advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Samantha Kerkman | 99.5 | 2,562 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 13 | ||
| Total votes: 2,575 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign finance
2018
- See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2018
General election
General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61
Incumbent Samantha Kerkman defeated Gina Walkington in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Samantha Kerkman (R) | 61.9 | 16,606 |
 | Gina Walkington (D) | 38.0 | 10,207 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 28 | ||
| Total votes: 26,841 | |||
| = 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 Wisconsin State Assembly District 61
Gina Walkington advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gina Walkington | 100.0 | 3,651 |
| Total votes: 3,651 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61
Incumbent Samantha Kerkman advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Samantha Kerkman | 100.0 | 4,481 |
| Total votes: 4,481 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
- See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2016
Elections for the Wisconsin State Assembly took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.
Incumbent Samantha Kerkman defeated Amee Janus in the Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 general election.[3][4]
| Wisconsin State Assembly, District 61 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Samantha Kerkman Incumbent |
66.71% | 19,622 | |
| Democratic | Amee Janus | 33.29% | 9,792 | |
| Total Votes | 29,414 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections Commission | ||||
Amee Janus ran unopposed in the Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 Democratic primary.[5][6]
| Wisconsin State Assembly, District 61 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Amee Janus (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Samantha Kerkman ran unopposed in the Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 Republican primary.[5][6]
| Wisconsin State Assembly, District 61 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Samantha Kerkman Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
- See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2014
Elections for all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 12, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Incumbent Samantha Kerkman was unopposed in the Republican primary. Kerkman was unopposed in the general election,[7][8] and was re-elected for another term.[9]
2012
- See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2012
Kerkman won re-election in the 2012 election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61. Kerkman ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14 and defeated District 66 incumbent John Steinbrink (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Samantha Kerkman Incumbent |
55.7% | 16,589 | |
| Democratic | John Steinbrink Incumbent | 44.3% | 13,186 | |
| - | Scattering | 0.1% | 23 | |
| Total Votes | 29,798 | |||
2010
- See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2010
Kerkman was re-elected to Wisconsin State Assembly District 66. She defeated Democrat Steven Brown in the general election on November 2, 2010. Kerkman was unopposed in the September 14, 2010, primary election.[12]
| Wisconsin State Assembly, District 66 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Samantha Kerkman (R)
|
14,502 | |||
| Steven Brown (D) | 6,284 | |||
| Wisconsin State Assembly, District 66 Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Samantha Kerkman (R)
|
5,203 | 99.48% | ||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Samantha Kerkman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Kerkman's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[13]
| “ | Jobs creation and economic growth
My top legislative priority has been getting Kenosha County residents back to work. During our two special sessions on jobs, the Assembly has created incentives for the private sector to create jobs. We’re already seeing our efforts pay off with nearly new jobs being created in Kenosha County in 2011. Wisconsin has seen two straight months of job growth in 2012 and our state unemployment rate is now at 5.8 percent, well below the national average. More work needs to be done, but I stand committed to doing what it takes to help revive our struggling economy and helping the private sector to thrive. Taxes One of the reasons behind our poor rating in Forbes and the migration of businesses from Wisconsin is our tax climate. We are among the highest taxed states in the nation and this will continue unless we halt our ever-increasing state tax rate. Instead of paying the government more and more money with each budget cycle, businesses could instead use that money to provide salaries and benefits to their workers and new hires. Freezing taxes and giving businesses the break they need to recover from this economy should be a priority in our efforts to initiate economic development. Healthcare I do not believe the answer to fixing our health care "crisis" is allowing the government to take control of it. Researching similar programs in other countries and states such as Massachusetts has indicated that such a measure only increases costs while negatively affecting the quality of the health care many of us currently receive. Rather than reforming the entire health care system, I believe we should specifically address the reasons why a certain percentage of the population does not have health care. From there, we can come up with solutions geared toward that population to ensure they have some kind of access to health care. I believe we can also tackle the rising cost of health care through TORT reform measures that are responsible for the ever-increasing malpractice insurance premiums physicians are confronted with. This is just one aspect of health care reform, but one that if properly address could result in significantly lower costs in the short term.[14] |
” |
2012
Kerkman's website highlighted the following campaign themes:
- Building Wisconsin‘s Economy – "We need to continue to grow our economy and help businesses have the opportunity to create jobs. I supported legislation to give local governments the tools they need to attract and retain companies in Wisconsin."
- Seniors – "I voted for legislation that would eliminate taxes on pension income making it more affordable to stay in Wisconsin."
- Education – "I have made it my mission to visit the great schools in my district over the past eight years. This has given me the knowledge to fight to continue our commitment for funding K-12 education at a record level of $12.3 billion over the next two years."
- Healthcare – "I believe access to affordable health care is critical to the residents of Wisconsin. I’ve worked to ensure that eligibility and benefits for Medical Assistance, Badger-Care and SeniorCare are protected."
- Taxes – "I continue to work to hold the line on tax increases. I supported the continuation of the property tax freeze on local governments. Levy increases are limited to 3.86% or net new growth."
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.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Wisconsin scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2022
In 2022, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 18 to March 8.
- Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against MMAC's position.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on conservation issues.
- Legislators are scored by the Wisconsin Family Action on their votes on legislation related to "marriage, family, the sanctity of human life, or religious freedom."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on industry-specific legislation.
- Legislators are scored on their votes by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association on legislation related to Wisconsin's law enforcement community.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2021, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 4 to December 31.
|
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2020, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 14 to May 13.
|
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 7, 2019 through January 13, 2020.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2018, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 16 through March 27. Special sessions were held from January 1 through February 27 and from March 15 through March 29.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 3 through December 31. There were also special sessions. The first special session was January 5. The second special session was August 1 through September 15.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 15.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 5 through December 31.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 4.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 7 to December 31.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 16.
|
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kenosha News, "Kerkman officially resigns from Wisconsin Assembly seat," accessed June 22, 2022
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates on Ballot by Election - 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2016 Fall General Election Results," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commission, "2016 Partisan Primary," accessed September 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability, "Candidates Registered by Office," June 11, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2014 Partisan Primary Candidates," accessed June 19, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Canvass Results for 2014 General Election," December 1, 2014
- ↑ Government Accountability Board, "2012 Fall Partisan Primary," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Government Accountability Board, "2012 Fall General Election," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Official 2010 Primary election results," accessed April 25, 2014
- ↑ Vote Samantha Kerkman, "Issues," accessed October 20, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 2001-2022 |
Succeeded by Amanda Nedweski (R) |
