John Nygren (born February 27, 1964) is an American insurance and financial services agent, politician, and lobbyist. A Republican, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for nearly 14 years, serving from January 2007 to December 2020. He was co-chair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee from 2013 until his sudden resignation on December 1, 2020. He now works as executive director for the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, a state lobbying organization for health insurance companies. Prior to holding public office, he was President of the United States Junior Chamber youth organization.
John Nygren | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 89th district | |
| In office January 1, 2007 – December 2, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | John Gard |
| Succeeded by | Elijah Behnke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 27, 1964 Marinette, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Maggie |
| Children | Cassie, Cali, and Colin |
| Residence(s) | Marinette, Wisconsin |
| Profession | insurance and financial services agent, politician, lobbyist |
| Website | Official website |
Early life and career
editNygren is a fourth generation resident of northeast Wisconsin. He graduated from Marinette High School in 1982, studied at the University of Wisconsin-Marinette,[1] and worked in the restaurant industry for over 12 years, eventually becoming co-owner/operator of his own establishment. In 1998 he started work at Great Lakes Financial Management Group selling insurance and other financial services.[2]
Nygren was involved with the Jaycees, serving as Marinette's chapter president, the regional director for Northeast Wisconsin, Wisconsin state president, and United States national president.[2]
Political career
editNygren was chairman of the Marinette County Republican Party and served on the City of Marinette Recreation and Planning Board from 2003 to 2006. In 2006, Nygren ran for Wisconsin State Assembly to replace Speaker John Gard, who was vacating his Assembly seat to run for United States House of Representatives. Nygren narrowly won the Republican primary election, defeating former state senator Gary Drzewiecki by just 37 votes.[3] Nygren went on to defeat Democrat Randy Koehn in the November general election with 54% of the vote.[4]
In the Assembly, he was assigned to the standing committees on Insurance; on Education, Health and Health care reform; and on Jobs and the Economy.[1]
Nygren was re-elected seven times, facing a Democratic opponent in six of the seven general elections. After the 2011 redistricting, Nygren's district became more safely Republican, and he did not receive less than 59% in any election after redistricting.
2011 recall elections
editIn 2011, a recall campaign was initiated by Democrats, resulting from the upheaval over the Budget Repair bill. Republicans retaliated by launching their own recall effort, targeting Democratic state senators. One of the senators who was successfully pulled into a recall was Democrat Dave Hansen. Nygren, who lived in his district, sought to challenge him in the recall election. However, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board ruled that he was two signatures short of the necessary 400 signatures on his nomination petition, and thus his name would not appear on the ballot.[5]
Resignation
editNygren won a substantial victory in 2020 with 68% of the vote.[6] However, only a month after the election, Nygren announced he would immediately resign his seat.[7] Governor Tony Evers announced he would call a special election to fill the vacancy.[8] On December 14, it was announced that Nygren would work as executive director at the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, a lobbying group for health insurers.[9][10]
Personal life
editNygren is married to Maggie, a family and consumer education teacher at Marinette High School,[11] and they have three children; Cassie, Cali and Colin.[2] The Nygren family is active at Faith Lutheran Church. John serves as church elder, and previously spent four years as church president.[2]
In January 2020, Nygren's daughter, Cassie, was found guilty of being a party to a first-degree reckless homicide stemming from the death of a pregnant woman to whom she sold drugs.[12]
Electoral history
editWisconsin Assembly (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Primary, September 12, 2006 | |||||
| Republican | John Nygren | 2,777 | 50.32% | ||
| Republican | Gary F. Drzewiecki | 2,740 | 49.65% | ||
| Scattering | 2 | 0.04% | |||
| Plurality | 37 | 0.67% | |||
| Total votes | 5,519 | 100.0% | |||
| General Election, November 7, 2006 | |||||
| Republican | John Nygren | 11,844 | 54.10% | −9.71% | |
| Democratic | Randy Koehn | 10,011 | 45.73% | +9.59% | |
| Scattering | 36 | 0.16% | |||
| Plurality | 1,833 | 8.37% | |||
| Total votes | 21,891 | 100.0% | -23.31% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 4, 2008 | |||||
| Republican | John Nygren (incumbent) | 14,814 | 53.54% | −0.56% | |
| Democratic | Randy Koehn | 12,839 | 46.40% | +0.67% | |
| Scattering | 15 | 0.05% | |||
| Plurality | 1,975 | 8.37% | -1.24% | ||
| Total votes | 27,668 | 100.0% | +26.39% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 2, 2010 | |||||
| Republican | John Nygren (incumbent) | 15,788 | 67.68% | +14.14% | |
| Democratic | Bob Orwig | 7,520 | 32.24% | −14.17% | |
| Scattering | 18 | 0.08% | |||
| Plurality | 8,268 | 35.45% | +28.31% | ||
| Total votes | 23,326 | 100.0% | -15.69% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 6, 2012 | |||||
| Republican | John Nygren (incumbent) | 16,081 | 59.05% | −8.63% | |
| Democratic | Joe Reinhard | 11,129 | 40.87% | +8.63% | |
| Scattering | 22 | 0.08% | |||
| Plurality | 4,952 | 18.18% | -17.26% | ||
| Total votes | 27,232 | 100.0% | +16.75% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Wisconsin Assembly (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 8, 2016 | |||||
| Republican | John Nygren (incumbent) | 19,429 | 68.20% | ||
| Democratic | Heidi Fencl | 9,055 | 31.78% | ||
| Scattering | 5 | 0.02% | |||
| Plurality | 10,374 | 36.41% | +28.31% | ||
| Total votes | 28,489 | 100.0% | +53.17% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 6, 2018 | |||||
| Republican | John Nygren (incumbent) | 17,091 | 66.85% | −1.35% | |
| Democratic | Ken Holdorf | 8,461 | 33.10% | ||
| Scattering | 13 | 0.05% | |||
| Plurality | 8,630 | 33.76% | -2.66% | ||
| Total votes | 25,565 | 100.0% | -10.26% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 3, 2020 | |||||
| Republican | John Nygren (incumbent) | 22,823 | 68.73% | +1.88% | |
| Democratic | Karl Jaeger | 10,374 | 31.24% | −1.86% | |
| Scattering | 10 | 0.03% | |||
| Plurality | 12,449 | 37.49% | +3.73% | ||
| Total votes | 33,207 | 100.0% | +29.89% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2007). "Biographies" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.). State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Biography". State Representative John Nygren. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/12/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. October 17, 2006. p. 70. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 5, 2006. p. 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Judge refuses to put candidate back on recall ballot". Pierce County Herald. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ^ "2020 Wisconsin State Assembly District 89 Election Results". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 3, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Vetterkind, Riley (December 1, 2020). "Budget committee co-chair John Nygren resigns Assembly seat". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ BeMiller, Haley (December 1, 2020). "State Rep. John Nygren resigns from Assembly weeks after winning reelection". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Tempus, Kent (December 14, 2020). "John Nygren to lead health insurance lobbying group after resigning from Wisconsin Assembly". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "John Nygren Announced as Association Executive Director". Wisconsin Association of Health Plans (Press release). December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "Staff Details - Margarita Nygren". Marinette School District. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Wisconsin legislator's daughter to be sentenced for role in woman's death". WDJT-TV. Associated Press. January 7, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ Canvass Summary Fall General Election - 11/04/2008 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. November 24, 2008. p. 89. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ 2010 Fall General Election Results Summary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 1, 2010. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 26, 2012. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. February 2, 2019. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2020.