Gary Tauchen

Gary Tauchen (born November 23, 1953) is an American dairy farmer and Republican politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 6th Assembly district from 2007 through 2022. The 6th district comprised most of Shawano County along with northwestern Outagamie County and neighboring towns in eastern Waupaca County.

Gary Tauchen
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 6th district
In office
January 1, 2007 – January 2, 2023
Preceded byJohn Ainsworth
Succeeded byPeter Schmidt
Personal details
Born (1953-11-23) November 23, 1953
Rice Lake, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
SpouseNone
ResidenceHartland, Shawano County, Wisconsin
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–River Falls (B.S.)
Professiondairy farmer

Early life and career

Born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, Tauchen graduated from Bonduel High School in 1971. He briefly attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and received his bachelor's degree in animal science from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.[1] In 1976, in partnership with his father, Herb, and brother, Alan, Tauchen started Tauchen's Harmony Valley Farm, which he still co-owns and operates with his parents and his two surviving brothers.[2] Today, the farm has around 1200 milking cows and raises crops on nearly 2500 acres.[2] Through his farm business, Tauchen became involved in a number of farm and conservation councils in Wisconsin. He was chairman of the Shawano Farm Bureau and the Wisconsin Dairy Herd Improvement Cooperative, and chaired Governor Tommy Thompson's Dairy 20/20 Council.[3]

Political career

In April 2006, State Representative John Ainsworth announced he would not seek reelection to another term.[4] A few weeks later, in an event at his family farm, Tauchen announced he would be a candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly in the seat vacated by Ainsworth.[5] Ultimately, four other candidates also joined the Republican primary in the heavily Republican district, though one candidate, Paul Mogged, would drop out before the primary to endorse Tauchen.[6] Tauchen was also endorsed by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau—a lobbying organization for farming interests.[7] Tauchen prevailed in the primary, receiving a majority of the votes in the four-way contest.[8] In the general election, Tauchen defeated Democrat Richard Lieffring, a teacher from Cecil, Wisconsin, taking 60% of the vote.[9] Tauchen has subsequently been reelected seven times.

Tauchen currently serves as chairman of the Assembly Committee on Agriculture and also serves on the Assembly committees on Energy and Utilities, on State Affairs, and on Tourism.[10]

On January 21, 2021, he announced that he would not seek re-election.[11]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2006–2020)
Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2006 Primary[8] September 12 Gary Tauchen Republican 3,534 50.76% Scott D. McMahon Rep. 1,631 23.43% 6,962 1,903
Dale R. Vannes Rep. 1,073 15.41%
J. P. Drengler Rep. 716 10.28%
General[9] November 7 Gary Tauchen Republican 12,199 60.33% Charles J. Boyle Dem. 8,015 39.64% 20,221 4,184
2008 General[12] November 4 Gary Tauchen (inc.) Republican 14,237 55.02% John Powers Dem. 11,631 44.95% 25,874 2,606
2010 General[13] November 2 Gary Tauchen (inc.) Republican 15,599 99.45% 15,686 15,512
2012 General[14] November 6 Gary Tauchen (inc.) Republican 15,423 59.41% John Powers Dem. 10,508 40.48% 25,961 4,915
Jon Kupsky (write-in) Ind. 9 0.03%
2014 General[15] November 4 Gary Tauchen (inc.) Republican 18,696 99.32% 18,824 18,568
2016 General[16] November 8 Gary Tauchen (inc.) Republican 18,690 70.15% William J. Switalla Dem. 7,944 29.82% 26,642 10,746
2018 General[17] November 6 Gary Tauchen (inc.) Republican 15,028 61.60% Richard Sarnwick Dem. 7,693 31.53% 24,398 7,335
Mike Hammond Lib. 1,675 6.87%
2020 General[18] November 3 Gary Tauchen (inc.) Republican 21,283 69.40% Richard Sarnwick Dem. 9,378 30.58% 30,666 11,905

References
  1. "Representative Gary Tauchen". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  2. "Tauchen's Harmony Valley Farm". Waupaca County, Wisconsin. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  3. Murphy, Tom (January 15, 1993). "Farmers form new cooperative". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved January 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Ainsworth won't seek re-election". The Post-Crescent. April 26, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Tauchen to seek seat vacated by Ainsworth". The Post-Crescent. May 9, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Candidate bows out of Assembly race". The Post-Crescent. June 13, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "6th Assembly District". Green Bay Press-Gazette. September 5, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/12/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. October 17, 2006. p. 28. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  9. Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 5, 2006. p. 14. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  10. "Representative Gary Tauchen". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  11. Williams, Brad (25 January 2021). "Tauchen Will Not Seek Re-election in the State legislature". www.tchdailynews.com. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  12. Fall General Election - 11/04/2008 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. November 24, 2008. p. 6. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  13. 2010 Fall General Election Results Summary.pdf (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 1, 2010. pp. 10–11. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  14. Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 26, 2012. p. 9. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  15. Canvass Results for 2014 General Election - 11/4/2014 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 26, 2014. p. 10. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  16. Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016. p. 10. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  17. Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. February 22, 2019. p. 11. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  18. Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 9. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
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