Rebecca Ann Reed was born in Pontiac, Michigan. Her family later relocated to Ohio where she won the 1994 Miss Ohio Teen-USA title. On August 16, 1994, she competed in the nationally televised 1994 Miss Teen-USA pageant as Miss Ohio Teen-USA in Biloxi, Mississippi, but did not place in the competition. Reed graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She was a reporter for WIFR-TV in Rockford, Illinois, and then was a reporter and later morning anchor for WISN-TV in Milwaukee, before leaving in 2004. Kleefisch formed her own company, Rebecca Kleefisch Enterprises, Inc. and was a contributor to Charlie Sykes' program on WTMJ Radio in Milwaukee.
Political career
Although Kleefisch's husband Joel had been a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly since being elected in 2004, Kleefisch's own first entry into politics began when she ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2010 and won a three-way primary race before being elected in November 2010. She declared her candidacy live via webcam from her kitchen table, expressing concern for the future of her children and touting her "kitchen table common sense." Kleefisch's campaign quickly garnered notice, including an appearance on Fox News to discuss the rise of conservative women called "Mama Grizzlies", a term coined by former AlaskaGovernor Sarah Palin. Her campaign received wide recognition for its use of social media, employing heavy use of her Facebook and Twitter feeds to engage voters and build her message. The Walker/Kleefisch ticket won the general election on November 2, 2010 and re-election on November 4, 2014.
Controversies
Kleefisch made national news during the Wisconsin gubernatorial race in October 2010 when footage of an interview she had done just weeks after she announced her run was uncovered. The hour-long interview contained footage where she showed concern about changing existing marriage laws and discussed where marriage laws might go if changed. "This doesn't just have roots in the Bible. This has roots in fiscal common sense. We can't, at this point, afford to just be handing out money to anyone. This is a slippery slope in addition to that — at what point are we going to okay marrying inanimate objects? Can I marry this table, or this — you know, clock? Can we marry dogs? This is ridiculous. Biblically, again I'm going to go right back to my fundamental Christian beliefs, marriage is between one man and one woman." The story became national news after it was discovered that Kleefisch's uncle Chris Pfauser has been in an openly gay relationship for 18 years, and Pfauser said after hearing the comments that he would vote for his niece's opponent. Kleefisch said in 2009 that there is "no consensus that people have caused climate change." In 2018, Kleefisch claimed that her campaign opponent Mandela Barnes was kneeling during the U.S. national anthem protests at the Wisconsin State Fair. She later apologized for making the claim.
Tenure
As she promised in her campaign, once elected, Kleefisch immediately began cold calling businesses from neighboring states, encouraging them to come to Wisconsin, which she declared "Open For Business". She was credited for helping to broker the growth of a Two Rivers, Wisconsin business. Formrite's owner, Dave Wage, said he contacted state officials regarding a potential $9 million-a-year contract with Caterpillar. Kleefisch was on the phone with him immediately. "She said, 'Dave, rest assured the state will do everything it can do … tell Caterpillar you are working with the state on funding for this project'", Wage recalled. The result was an expansion and addition of 60 jobs. Kleefisch was designated by Walker as the administration's liaison to Wisconsin's small business community. In that capacity, she hosted 25 Small Business Roundtables in 2011, traveling Wisconsin and listening to small business owners describe their situation and needs. She also was selected to chair Walker's subcabinet on workforce investment that developed the Wisconsin Working Plan. Kleefisch served as co-chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse, chair of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, and as chair of the Aerospace States Association.
Recall
Following a contentious collective bargaining dispute in 2011, an effort began to recall Walker and Kleefisch. After examining petitions, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board determined there were more than 800,000 valid signatures to hold a recall election. The recall election was held on June 5, 2012. Kleefisch won the recall election. Kleefisch is the only lieutenant governor in the history of any state in the United States to face recall election and ultimately survive a recall.
Personal life
Kleefisch is married to former State Representative Joel Kleefisch, who was also a reporter for WISN-TV. They have two daughters. They lived in Oconomowoc, located 16 miles west of Waukesha, Wisconsin, and were members of Crosspoint Community Church, a Christian & Missionary Alliance-affiliated megachurch in Oconomowoc. Since losing re-election, Kleefisch and her family moved to Concord, Wisconsin.
Illness
In late August 2010, Kleefisch was diagnosed with colon cancer. She had a tumor removed on September 2, 12 days before she won the primary election. Although she is currently cancer-free, two days after she was elected, Kleefisch began elective chemotherapy to ensure that the cancer does not return. By April 2011, she had finished chemotherapy treatment.
