Alberta Darling
Darling in 2018
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 8th district
In office
January 4, 1993 – December 1, 2022
Preceded byJoseph Czarnezki
Succeeded byDan Knodl
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 10th district
In office
May 15, 1990 – January 4, 1993
Preceded byBetty Jo Nelsen
Succeeded byAnnette Polly Williams
Personal details
Born (1944-04-28) April 28, 1944 (age 79)
Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
William Darling
​
​
(m. 1967; died 2015)​
Children2
ResidenceRiver Hills, Wisconsin
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison (B.S.)
ProfessionTeacher, Marketing Director

Alberta Darling (born April 28, 1944) is an American educator, politician and former member of the Wisconsin State Senate. She represented Wisconsin's 8th State Senate district from 1993 through 2022 as a Republican. Her constituency included many of the municipalities directly north and northwest of Milwaukee and part of the city of Milwaukee. She also served three years in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Before entering public office, she was a teacher and marketing director.[1]

Personal life and education

Darling was born in Hammond, Indiana, and raised in Peoria, Illinois, where she graduated from Richwoods High School. She attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education in 1966. After graduating from UW-Madison, she moved to Milwaukee and did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee from 1972 to 1974.[2]

Prior to her election to the legislature, Darling taught high school English and was later the marketing and business development director for the Milwaukee Art Museum.[3]

Darling met her husband, William "Bill" Darling, during their time at UW-Madison. The two married in 1967, and up until his death in the spring of 2015, Bill was an ear, nose and throat surgeon in southeast Wisconsin. Darling and her husband had two children and three grandchildren. She is a longtime resident of River Hills, Wisconsin, which she represented in the Senate.[4][5]

Wisconsin State Legislature

Darling campaign for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for the 2012 presidential election
Darling (center) joined in 2009 by State Sen. Pat Kreitlow (left) and State Rep. Jeff Smith (right)
Darling in 2019

Darling first joined the Wisconsin State Legislature by winning a special election in 1990 for the 10th district, defeating Rick Graber in the primary. She served the remainder of the term and a full two-year term in the State Assembly before being elected in 1992 to the State Senate, a seat she has held ever since. Darling faced a contentious election in 2008, though she fended off a challenge from State Representative Sheldon Wasserman by a mere percentage point and would go unopposed in the next two regular election cycles in 2012 and 2016. In 2020, Darling faced a challenge from Neal Plotkin, a sales representative and substitute teacher from Glendale. The race was heavily targeted by Democrats amidst eroding support for Republicans in suburban districts, and Darling was outspent as Plotkin was boosted by a significant edge in outside spending.[6] However, Darling won re-election by eight percentage points (a margin nearly identical to the 2011 recall) as she garnered split-ticket support among Joe Biden voters to secure a comfortable win despite a razor-thin 167-vote margin in the presidential election in her district.[7][8] Throughout her tenure in the Legislature, Darling has earned a reputation as a fiscal conservative with moderate views on some issues.[9] She endorsed Ted Cruz over Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.[10]

From 2000 to 2021, she served on the influential Joint Finance Committee (responsible for the state budget) and notably served as the longtime Senate co-chair. Her six sessions chairing the committee is tied for most in state history.[6] During the 2021–2023 legislative session, Darling chaired the Committee on Education, served as the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics and also served on the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, the Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges, the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems, and the Joint Legislative Council. She is also a member of the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board and the Wisconsin Center District.[11]

2011 recall

Darling was one of nine Senators (six Republicans and three Democrats) to face a recall election effort in 2011 following the enactment of 2011 Wisconsin Act 10. On March 2, 2011, the "Committee to Recall Darling" officially registered with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board[12] and on April 20, 2011, the recall campaigns announced that they had gathered nearly 30,000 signatures – enough to trigger a recall election. The 8th Senate District was considered a heavy target for Democrats and outside spending,[13] yet Darling would defeat Democratic challenger Sandy Pasch by a larger margin than she had won in 2008; 54 percent to 46 percent.[14] The election was notably the last race to be called with the balance of the Senate and the ultimate fate of Republican reforms at stake, and received national coverage on election night as a result.[13]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1990)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1990[15]
Special 		Primary Apr. 3 Alberta Darling Republican 6,403 50.33% Timothy D. Lawless Rep. 4,481 35.22% 12,723 1,922
Richard W. Graber Rep. 1,839 14.45%
Special May 1 Alberta Darling Republican 668 100.0% 668 668
1990[15] General Nov. 6 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 12,572 73.25% William R. Boyd Dem. 4,591 26.75% 17,163 7,981

Wisconsin Senate (1992–2020)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1992[16] General Nov. 3 Alberta Darling Republican 55,130 67.41% William C. Whitten Dem. 26,656 32.59% 81,786 28,474
1996[17] General Nov. 5 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 45,244 58.78% Randy Nash Dem. 29,728 38.62% 76,975 15,516
Tim Gallert Tax. 2,003 2.60%
2000[18] General Nov. 7 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 57,041 65.88% Sara Lee Johann Dem. 29,396 33.95% 86,581 27,645
2004[19] General Nov. 2 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 55,731 56.94% Jennifer Morales Dem. 42,048 42.96% 97,879 13,683
2008[20] General Nov. 4 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 50,125 50.46% Sheldon Wasserman Dem. 49,118 49.45% 99,328 1,007
2011[21] Recall Aug. 9 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 39,449 53.62% Sandy Pasch Dem. 34,071 46.31% 73,576 5,378
2012[22] General Nov. 6 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 76,402 95.58% 79,934 72,870
2016[23] General Nov. 8 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 77,331 95.51% 80,966 73,696
2020[24] General Nov. 3 Alberta Darling (inc) Republican 64,906 54.24% Neal Plotkin Dem. 54,693 45.70% 119,666 10,213

References

  1. ^ @SenDarling (November 23, 2022). "Today, I announced I am resigning from the State Senate effective December 1st. I am forever grateful to the people of the 8th Senate District for placing their trust in me. I look forward to spending more time with family and friends. On, Wisconsin!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Senator Alberta Darling (WI) Project VoteSmart. Accessed June 6, 2011
  3. ^ "Who's who on the Joint Finance Committee Archived 2013-02-10 at archive.today". Wausau Daily Herald, April 7, 2011. Accessed June 6, 2011
  4. ^ "About Alberta".
  5. ^ "Darling remembered as caring doctor, supportive husband".
  6. ^ a b "FRI REPORT: Sources: LeMahieu, Roth vying for Senate majority leader; Darling, Kapenga, possibly Testin for president". 30 October 2020.
  7. ^ "AP: Alberta Darling projected to keep District 8 seat". 4 November 2020.
  8. ^ ""District-level look at presidential results highlights Wisconsin's political shifts"". Wisconsin Newspaper Association. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  9. ^ Giroux, Gregory. "GOP Delegation: Wisconsin". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. ^ Megerian, Chris (2 April 2016). "Republican loyalists skeptical of Donald Trump in Milwaukee". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Senator Alberta Darling". Wisconsin State Legislature. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Committee to Recall Darling". Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. March 9, 2011. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Democrats fall short in Wisconsin recall elections". NBC News.
  14. ^ Barbour, Clay and Mary Spicuzza. "Republicans hold off Dems in recalls, win enough seats to keep majority in Senate". Wisconsin State Journal, August 10, 2011.
  15. ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin 1991-1992 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 899, 915. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  16. ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin 1993-1994 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 900, 919. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  17. ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin 1997-1998 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 888, 889. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  18. ^ Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2000 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. p. 6. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  19. ^ Results of Fall General Election - 11/02/2004 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. p. 7. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  20. ^ Results of Fall General Election - 11/04/2008 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. p. 6. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  21. ^ Canvass Results for 2011 Recall Election State Senate 8 - 8/9/2011 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. p. 1. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  22. ^ Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. 26 December 2012. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-14. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  23. ^ Canvass Results for 2016 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  24. ^ Canvass Results for 2020 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.

External links

Wisconsin State Assembly Preceded byBetty Jo Nelsen Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 10th district May 15, 1990 – January 4, 1993 Succeeded byAnnette Polly Williams Wisconsin Senate Preceded byJoseph Czarnezki Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 8th district January 4, 1993 – December 1, 2022 Succeeded byDan Knodl
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