Dianne Hesselbein

Dianne H. Hesselbein ( Conway; born March 10, 1971) is an American Democratic politician from Middleton, Wisconsin. She is the minority leader of the Wisconsin Senate since December 2023; she has been a member of the Senate since January 2023, representing Wisconsin's 27th Senate district. She previously served ten years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 79th Assembly district from 2013 through 2023.

Biography Dianne Hesselbein was born Dianne Conway in Madison, Wisconsin, in March 1971. She graduated from La Follette High School in 1989 then attended University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1993. She obtained her master's in religious studies from Edgewood College in 1996.

She subsequently moved to Middleton, Wisconsin, just west of Madison, where she was elected to the Dane County board of supervisors. In November 2012, she was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly without opposition, running on the Democratic Party ticket. She was subsequently re-elected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020,

In December 2021, long-time incumbent state senator Jon Erpenbach announced he would not run for a seventh term in 2022. A week later, Hesselbein announced she would run for the open Senate seat. She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary and went on to defeat Republican candidate Robert Relph with 68% of the vote in the November general election.

Hesselbein was sworn in as state senator in January 2023. In December 2023, she was elected minority leader of the Wisconsin Senate after the resignation of Melissa Agard.

Personal life and family Dianne Hesselbein's first husband was Scott Edmundson; during that marriage she was known as Dianne Edmundson. They were married in 1995 and had two children together before divorcing in 2000.

She took the name Dianne Hesselbein when she married airline pilot Robert Hesselbein, with whom she had one more child. She resides in Middleton with her husband, who is retired.

Wisconsin Assembly, 79th district (2012–2020)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality 2012 Primary Democratic 3,590 65.52% Dem. 1,885 34.40% 5,479 1,705 General Democratic 24,683 98.75% --Unopposed-- 24,995 24,371 2014 General Democratic 18,843 62.24% Rep. 11,406 37.67% 30,275 7,437 2016 General Democratic 23,211 63.84% Rep. 13,105 36.04% 36,360 10,106 2018 General Democratic 28,079 97.58% --Unopposed-- 28,776 27,382 2020 General Democratic 29,719 67.14% Rep. 14,507 32.77% 44,267 15,212

Wisconsin Senate (2022)