John Lehman

Who is John Lehman?

John W. Lehman is a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 21st District. He was previously a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1996 through 2004. As of June 6, 2012, he appears to have won back a seat on the Wisconsin State Senate in the 2012 Wisconsin recall elections, defeating the incumbent Republican, Van Wanggaard, who had defeated Lehman in 2010. On July 11, 2012, Lehman was certified as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate.

On January 31, 2012, Lehman announced he would run against Wanggaard in what then was "looking like" a probable recall election. He stated "we need a change in course in this state and we need it now" before a gathering of about 20 supporters at the Racine Public Library, where he made the announcement. He added that "we need real leadership in Madison." Volunteers and workers gathered more than 24,000 signatures to recall Wanggaard, one of four state Senators facing a recall along with the Republican Governor Scott Walker and the Republican Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch.

Lehman claimed he was "not seeking payback" against Wanggaard for the 2010 election, but that Wanggaard has not represented Racine County well in the Senate. The Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller stated that the Democrats "could not have done better" because "they" "are folks that people have voted for before." On June 6, 2012, Lehman led narrowly in the recall election with all votes counted, giving Democrats a brief one vote majority in the Wisconsin State Senate.