Debra Kolste

Debra Ann "Deb" Kolste (née Babl; born June 20, 1953) is an American business owner and politician. A Democrat, she was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2013 to 2021, representing the Janesville-based 44th assembly district.

Early life and career Debra Kolste was born in the small city of O'Neill, Nebraska. She was co-valedictorian on her graduation from Kimball County High School. She went on to study at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and received her bachelor's degree in medical technology in 1975. In 1984, they purchased a grain farm in Colby, which Kolste still owns and operates. In 1994, they sold their clinic in Colby and moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, where they both were employed by Mercy Health.

Political career In 2012, Kolste announced she would be a candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly in the Janesville-based 44th assembly district. She hoped to challenge incumbent first-term Republican state representative Joe Knilans in the general election. First, however, she had to surmount the crowded Democratic primary field, which included city councilmember Sam Liebert, school board member Kevin Murray, and former city councilmember Yuri Rashkin. In the August primary, she prevailed with 42% of the vote. The general election dealt with the issues of a mining bill, which may have had an impact on the Janesville economy, and the state's implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act. Kolste went on to win a substantial victory over Knilans in the general election, with 61% of the vote. Kolste won reelection in 2014 and was unopposed in 2016 and 2018.

In February 2020, Kolste announced she would retire from the Assembly at the end of the 2019–2020 term. Kolste endorsed her friend, Sue Conley, to replace her in the Assembly, and Conley was elected later that year. Tragically, Kolste's husband, Rex, died unexpectedly two months after she announced her retirement.

Personal life and family Debra Ann Babl took the name Kolste when she married Dr. Rex J. Kolste, who she met while they were both undergraduate students at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Dr. Kolste, at age 66, died of a heart attack in April 2020.