American Republican politician, member of the Wisconsin Assembly
Robert Otto Wittke Jr. (born September 23, 1957) is an American accountant and Republican politician from Racine County, Wisconsin . He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly , representing Wisconsin's 63rd Assembly district since 2025; he previously represented the 62nd Assembly district from 2019 to 2025.[ 1] Before his election to the Assembly, Wittke was president of the Racine Unified School Board for two years.
Biography
Born in Racine, Wisconsin , to Robert Wittke Sr. and Margaret Wittke née Jankowski, Wittke graduated from William Horlick High School in 1975 and received a B.A. in accounting from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire in 1980. He worked as a tax accountant for Modine Manufacturing in Racine from 1980 to 1986, then at Snap-on Inc. in Kenosha from 1988 to 1994. He then worked for Deloitte in their tax consultancy from 1994 to 2002. Since 2012, he has been employed by CORPTAX, a tax software as a service company based in Deerfield, Illinois .[ 2]
Wittke resides in Wind Point, Wisconsin , he is married and has four children.
Political career
Wittke first ran for Racine Unified School Board in 2013, placing fourth in a top-three at-large election.[ 3]
In 2015, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a law requiring Racine Unified School Board seats to be assigned to geographic districts, rather than elected at-large.[ 4] Wittke ran for the newly drawn ninth district in the 2016 school board elections. He was elected in April 2016, defeating retiree Kurt Squire. A year later, in April 2017, Wittke was elected School Board President.[ 5]
In April 2018, Tom Weatherston announced that he would not seek re-election to a fourth term representing the 62nd district in the Wisconsin State Assembly.[ 6] Wittke announced his candidacy for the seat the next day.[ 7] He defeated John Leiber in the Republican Primary, and went on to defeat former State Senator John Lehman in the 2018 general election .[ 8] [ 1]
Wittke announced that he would not seek re-election to the Racine School Board in 2019.[ 9]
Electoral history
Racine School Board, At-large district (2013)
Year
Election
Date
Elected
Defeated
Total
Plurality
2013
General[ 10]
Apr. 2
Michael Frontier
Nonpartisan
9,318
20.91%
Robert Wittke Jr.
Non.
6,825
15.32%
44,552
280
Julie L. McKenna (inc)
Nonpartisan
9,038
20.29%
Roger Pfost
Non.
5,620
12.61%
Christopher Eperjesy (inc)
Nonpartisan
8,431
18.92%
Kristie Formolo
Non.
5,239
11.76%
Racine School Board, 9th district (2016)
Year
Election
Date
Elected
Defeated
Total
Plurality
2016
General[ 11]
Apr. 5
Robert Wittke
Nonpartisan
3,238
61.42%
Kurt Squire
Non.
1,723
38.58%
5,272
1,515
Wisconsin State Assembly, 62nd district (2018–2022)
Year
Election
Date
Elected
Defeated
Total
Plurality
2018
Primary[ 12]
Aug. 14
Robert Wittke
Republican
3,931
67.50%
John Leiber
Rep.
1,885
32.37%
5,824
2,046
General[ 13]
Nov. 6
Robert Wittke
Republican
16,035
54.87%
John Lehman
Dem.
13,161
45.04%
29,223
2,874
2020
General[ 14]
Nov. 3
Robert Wittke (inc)
Republican
20,540
58.63%
August Schutz
Dem.
14,463
41.28%
35,034
6,077
2022
General[ 15]
Nov. 8
Robert Wittke (inc)
Republican
18,236
61.36%
Anthony Hammes
Dem.
11,445
38.51%
29,719
6,791
Wisconsin State Assembly, 63rd district (2024)
References
^ a b "Wittke elected in District 62; incumbents returned in other legislative races" . Racine Journal Times . 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ "Robert Wittke's Biography" . Vote Smart . Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ Fiori, Lindsay (2013-04-02). "Frontier, McKenna and Eperjesy elected in RUSD race" . Racine Journal Times . Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ Schaaf, Mark (2015-10-27). "School Board boundaries drawn" . Racine Journal Times . Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ Torres, Ricardo (2017-04-25). "Wittke elected School Board president" . Racine Journal Times . Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ Wicklund, Pete (2018-04-10). "Weatherston not seeking re-election to the state Assembly" . Racine Journal Times . Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ "Wittke announces candidacy for 62nd Assembly District" . Racine Journal Times . 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ Sadowski, Jonathon (2018-08-14). "Wittke prevails in Assembly District 62 GOP primary" . Racine Journal Times . Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ Sievers, Caitlin (2019-01-03). "Wittke will not run for School Board re-election, no filers for his seat" . Racine Journal Times . Retrieved 2019-03-26 .
^ Official Election Results, Spring Election - April 2, 2013 (Report). Racine County government. April 2, 2013. p. 16. Retrieved December 4, 2024 .
^ Final Official 04-05-2016 Election Results for State and County Races (Report). Office of the Clerk of Racine County, Wisconsin. April 5, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2024 .
^ Canvass Results for 2018 Partisan Primary - 8/14/2018 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission . August 31, 2018. p. 81. Retrieved October 20, 2024 .
^ Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission . February 22, 2019. p. 24. Retrieved October 20, 2024 .
^ Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission . November 18, 2020. p. 22. Retrieved October 20, 2024 .
^ Canvass Results for 2022 General Election - 11/8/2022 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission . November 30, 2022. p. 23. Retrieved October 20, 2024 .
107th Wisconsin Legislature (2025–2027)