Gregg Underheim

Underheim tried to meet with Karl Rove in Texas, attempted (but failed) to meet with Howard Baker in Tennessee, and attempted (and failed) to become a speechwriter for the Republican National Committee in Washington D.C.^[2] He returned to Wisconsin and joined Tom Petri's campaign for Congress. Petri won the race, and Underheim joined his staff full-time.

Underheim ran for the State Assembly in 1987, and was elected as the representative from Oshkosh. He focused on health-related issues during his term.^[2] In 1998, Underheim proposed legislation that required physicians to provide and pay for the submission of claims data.

Underheim became involved in controversies in the mid-1990s about how to teach reading to children. He argued in favor of research-supported, phonics-based reading programs. Underheim used this controversy as a key issue in his first race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1997, but he was not successful in that election.^[2] He sought election to the same office a second time in 2005, and was again unsuccessful. Underheim received a lifetime recognition award from the Wisconsin Hospital Association in 2006.^[3]

• Profile at Vote Smart
• Image of Underheim in Assembly from the Oshkosh Northwestern's "Newsmakers of 2006" collection, Retrieved January 12, 2007