Kelda Roys

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Kelda Helen Roys (born June 24, 1979) is an American attorney and politician. She is a member of the Democratic and Wisconsin Senate, representing the state's 26th Senate district since 2021. She previously served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 2009 to 2013. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, and for governor of Wisconsin in 2018.[1]

Early life and education

Roys was born in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and raised in Medford and Madison. Her mother was a social worker, her stepfather was an environmental lawyer, and her father was a retired prosecutor and law enforcement officer.[2] Roys graduated from Madison East High School in 1997.[3]

Roys attended New York University, where she designed her own major in politics, drama, and cultural studies, and received a B.A., magna cum laude, in 2000.[4][5] In 2004, she received a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School, focusing on civil rights and international law, and was a participant in the Wisconsin Innocence Project. During and after college, Roys worked full-time as a real estate agent at The Marketing Directors, Inc.[6]

Career

During law school, she worked at the Wisconsin Innocence Project, as well as several international law firms. After law school, she worked for four years as the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, where she successfully advocated for passage of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Act.[7] She practices real estate law and is CEO and founder of a real estate startup, OpenHomes.[8]

Roys has been on the boards of Clean Lakes Alliance, TEMPO Madison, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Women's Council, ACLU of Wisconsin, Madison Repertory Theater, Dane County Democratic Party, Sherman Neighborhood Association, Wisconsin Public Interest Law Foundation, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and the State Bar of Wisconsin's Legal Services Committee.[9]

In 2013, Roys founded a venture-backed real estate tech company, OpenHomes, a virtual real estate agency that helps people buy and sell homes more efficiently and affordably.[10][11][12]

Political career

Wisconsin State Assembly

In 2008, Roys won election to the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the 81st Assembly district, filling the seat left vacant by the retirement of David Travis, who had held the seat since 1983. She won a six-way Democratic primary with 30% of the vote and was unopposed in the general election.[13]

After being reelected in 2010, Roys was chosen by her peers as the Democratic Caucus chair in the Assembly. Roys as vice-chair of the Committee on Health and Healthcare Reform, and later was ranking member on the Committee on Elections and Campaign Finance Reform and the Committee on Consumer Protection & Personal Privacy.

Roys authored numerous pieces of legislation during her time in office, including public breastfeeding protections, additional income tax deductions for families, expanded college savings programs, reproductive health access, expanding health care coverage, increased training and data collection for law enforcement officers, expansion of AODA treatment services and prevention programs, and a successful statewide ban of Bisphenol A, or "BPA."[14] Roys also publicly fought against 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, and had pledged to repeal the law if elected governor.[15]

2012 congressional election

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". In 2012, when Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Herb Kohl, Roys left her Assembly seat to run for office in the open 2nd Congressional district. She lost to Mark Pocan in a four-candidate Democratic primary.[16]

2018 gubernatorial election

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On December 11, 2017, Roys formed an exploratory committee to run for governor of Wisconsin.[17]

During the campaign, Roys ran as a progressive, focusing on issues such as a $15 minimum wage, student loan debt forgiveness and engaging with progressive voters.[18] She gained national attention when a campaign ad in which she breastfeeds her infant daughter went viral. The ad drew attention to legislation Roys had supported during her time in the state assembly to ban the use of Bisphenol A in baby bottles, which is used in various plastic products and can linings[19]

Roys won first place by 12 points in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention straw poll.[20] In July 2018, the Roys campaign announced that she had raised over $800,000.[21][22] In the primary election, Roys came in third out of the eight candidates, with Tony Evers winning the nomination and going on to defeat Scott Walker.[23]

Wisconsin Senate

In March 2020, Fred Risser, the longest-serving legislator in American history, announced he would retire from his seat in the Wisconsin State Senate at the end of the current term.[24] Roys immediately announced her candidacy to run for the vacated seat.[25] The race, in the heavily Democratic region of Dane County, Wisconsin, attracted six other candidates in a crowded Democratic primary, which was also defined by the COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin and the protests against institutional racism prompted by the murder of George Floyd. In the August primary, Roys prevailed over her six competitors, winning 40% of the vote. She was unopposed in the November general election, and assumed office in January 2021.[26][27]

Personal life

Roys has a husband and three daughters and two step daughters.[28]

She is an atheist and a secular humanist.[29]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2008, 2010)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2008 Primary[30] Sep. 9 Kelda Helen Roys valign="top" rowspan="5" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 1,960 31.10% Justin Sargent valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 1,683 26.71% 6,302 277
John W. Laubmeier valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 1,001 15.88%
Eric Englund valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 904 14.34%
Tim Kiefer valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 410 6.51%
Peng Her valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 337 5.35%
General[31] Nov. 4 Kelda Helen Roys valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 23,984 98.89% --Unopposed-- 24,253 23,715
2010 General[32] Nov. 2 Kelda Helen Roys (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 18,698 98.90% 18,906 18,490

U.S. House (2012)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2012 Primary[33] Aug. 14 Mark Pocan valign="top" rowspan="3" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 43,171 72.16% Kelda Helen Roys valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 13,081 21.87% 59,826 30,090
Matt Silverman valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 2,365 3.95%
Dennis Hall valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 1,163 1.94%

Wisconsin Governor (2018)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2018 Primary[34] Aug. 14 Tony Evers rowspan="10" valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 225,082 41.77% Mahlon Mitchell valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 87,926 16.32% 538,857 137,156
Kelda Helen Roys valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 69,086 12.82%
Kathleen Vinehout valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 44,168 8.20%
Mike McCabe valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 39,885 7.40%
Matt Flynn valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 31,580 5.86%
Paul Soglin valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 28,158 5.23%
Andy Gronik (withdrawn) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 6,627 1.23%
Dana Wachs (withdrawn) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 4,216 0.78%
Josh Pade valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 1,908 0.35%
Paul Boucher (write-in) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 10 0.00%

Wisconsin Senate (2020–present)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2020 Primary[35] Aug. 11 Kelda Helen Roys valign="top" rowspan="6" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 19,801 40.21% Nada Elmikashfi valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 13,220 26.84% 49,248 6,581
Brian Benford valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 4,699 9.54%
Amani Latimer Burris valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 4,370 8.87%
Aisha Moe valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 3,632 7.37%
John Imes valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 3,074 6.24%
William Henry Davis III valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Dem. 408 0.83%
General[36] Nov. 3 Kelda Helen Roys valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 102,569 98.16% --Unopposed-- 104,488 100,650
2024 General[37] Nov. 5 Kelda Helen Roys (inc) valign="top" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic 94,495 98.41% 96,021 92,969

References

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External links

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Template:Wisconsin State Senators Template:Authority control

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