| Joel Kleefisch | |
| State: | Wisconsin |
| State Assembly: | Wisconsin |
| District: | 38th |
| Term Start: | January 3, 2005 |
| Term End: | January 7, 2019 |
| Predecessor: | Steven Foti[1] |
| Successor: | Barbara Dittrich |
| Office1: | Second Gentleman of Wisconsin |
| Governor1: | Scott Walker |
| Term Label1: | In role |
| Term Start1: | January 3, 2011 |
| Term End1: | January 7, 2019 |
| Predecessor1: | Cal Lawton |
| Successor1: | Vacant |
| Birth Date: | 8 June 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Spouse: | Rebecca Reed |
| Children: | 2 |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Education: | Pepperdine University (BA) |
Joel M. Kleefisch (;[2] born June 8, 1971) is a former American politician and a former television reporter who now works as a lobbyist.[3] He served fourteen years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing parts of Waukesha, Jefferson, and eastern Dane counties.[4] His wife, Rebecca Kleefisch, was the Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin.
Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Kleefisch graduated from Waukesha North High School in 1989. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Pepperdine University in 1993.[5]
Kleefisch worked as a news researcher for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles during the summer of 1992. Upon graduation from Pepperdine he worked as a reporter for WREX-TV in Rockford, Illinois from 1993 to 1994.[6] Kleefisch then was hired by WISN-TV to work the assignment desk and as a part-time reporter in 1994, before becoming a full-time general assignment reporter, where he worked until entering politics. As a reporter at WISN-TV, he appeared on CNN to discuss the trial of Mark Chmura.[7] He won an award for "Best investigative report or series" from the Milwaukee Press Club in 1999 for a piece about date rape drugs.[8]
Kleefisch was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2004, and was re-elected in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016.[6] He represented Oconomowoc and surrounding areas of western Waukesha County, northern Jefferson County, and eastern Dane County. In 2009 he co-sponsored legislation to increase the penalties in Wisconsin for driving under the influence.[9]
Kleefisch did not seek re-election in 2018 and was succeeded by Barbara Dittrich.[10]
Kleefisch met his wife when she was also a reporter and anchor for WISN. They married in 1999 after she moved to the station from Rockford, Illinois.[11] The couple have two children.