Mary Felzkowski
American politician (born 1963)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Jean Felzkowski (née Behling; born September 25, 1963) is an American businesswoman and Republican politician from northern Wisconsin. She is the current president of the Wisconsin Senate, since 2025, and has served in the Senate since 2021. She represents Wisconsin's 12th Senate district, which comprises a large swath of northern Wisconsin. She previously served eight years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was assistant majority leader in the 2019–2020 session.
Mary Felzkowski | |
|---|---|
| President of the Wisconsin Senate | |
| Assumed office January 6, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Kapenga |
| Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 12th district | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Tiffany |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 35th district | |
| In office January 7, 2013 – January 4, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Tiffany |
| Succeeded by | Calvin Callahan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mary Jean Behling September 25, 1963 Tomahawk, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 5 |
| Education | University of Wisconsin, River Falls (BS) |
| Website | State Senate website |
She was known as Mary Czaja until her second marriage in 2016. On many official documents after 2017, including the 2018 and 2020 election ballots, her name appeared as Mary Czaja-Felzkowski.[1][2]
Early life and education
Mary Felzkowski was born Mary Jean Behling on September 25, 1963. She graduated from Tomahawk High School before earning a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.[3]
Career
Felzkowski is the owner of CIS Insurance Group in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. In November 2012, she was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican, succeeding Tom Tiffany, who was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate.[4]
Felzkowski is a supporter of medical cannabis, and submitted a measure to legalize it in Wisconsin.[5] Felzkowski has also advocated against the expansion of Medicaid.[6] She was chosen by the Republican caucus as the assistant majority leader in the 2019–2020 session.[7]
After incumbent state senator Tom Tiffany was elected to Congress in a 2020 special election, Felzkowski announced that she would run for the seat he was vacating in the Wisconsin Senate.[8] She was unopposed in the Republican primary, and went on to defeat Democrat Ed Vocke in the 2020 general election.[9]
On August 23, 2024, while serving as co-chair of the state's Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations, Felzkowki made controversial statements equating Wisconsin's Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to "terrorists" when commenting on a territorial dispute between the tribe and the neighboring township. The Lac du Flambeau Band retaliated by issuing a proclamation banishing Felzkowski from their reservation.[10]
Following the 2024 Wisconsin Senate elections, Felzkowski was elected to be the Senate president going into the 107th Wisconsin Legislature.[11]
Following the negotiations for the 2025-2027 state budget, which had been done on a bipartisan basis between Democratic governor Tony Evers, and state legislative leaders of both parties in the state senate, Felzkowski voted against the budget.[12][13] Additionally, Felzkowski was the only state senate president in state history to vote against a biennial budget.[12]
Personal life
Felzkowski has been married twice and has five children. She took the name Mary Czaja after marrying her first husband Bruce Czaja; they divorced in 2011.[14] She subsequently married Jeffery James Felzkowski on December 31, 2016, and took the name Mary Felzkowski.[2][3]
She is a former president of Tomahawk Main Street, Inc., a community organization of Tomahawk businesses, and a former board member and national director of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. She is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association of America.[3]
Electoral history
Wisconsin Assembly (2012–2018)
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | General[15] | Nov. 6 | Mary Czaja | Republican | 15,481 | 53.30% | Kevin Koth | Dem. | 12,149 | 41.83% | 29,045 | 3,332 |
| Patrick K. Tjugum | Ind. | 1,397 | 4.81% | |||||||||
| 2014 | General[16] | Nov. 4 | Mary Czaja (inc) | Republican | 18,713 | 98.58% | --unopposed-- | 18,982 | 18,444 | |||
| 2016 | General[17] | Nov. 8 | Mary Czaja (inc) | Republican | 18,622 | 66.02% | Renea Frederick | Dem. | 9,564 | 33.91% | 28,208 | 9,058 |
| 2018 | General[18] | Nov. 6 | Mary Czaja-Felzkowski (inc) | Republican | 16,380 | 62.74% | Mark A. Martello | Dem. | 9,714 | 37.21% | 26,107 | 6,666 |
Wisconsin Senate (2020, 2024)
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | General[9] | Nov. 3 | Mary Czaja-Felzkowski | Republican | 67,800 | 65.66% | Ed Vocke | Dem. | 35,386 | 34.27% | 103,256 | 32,414 |
| 2024 | General[19] | Nov. 5 | Mary Felzkowski (inc) | Republican | 74,162 | 67.46% | Andi Rich | Dem. | 35,628 | 32.41% | 109,936 | 38,534 |