Robert Cowles
- ️Tue Nov 08 2016
Robert Cowles
Prior offices
Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Senate District 2
Education
Personal
Contact
Robert Cowles (Republican Party) was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing District 2. He assumed office in 1987. He left office on January 6, 2025.
Cowles (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Wisconsin State Senate to represent District 2. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Biography
Cowles graduated from the University of Green Bay in 1975. He then worked for a communications construction company as the director of the company's alternative energy division.
Cowles has been part of the Investment Committee for DaneVest Tech Fund Advisors, LLC.[1][2][3]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Cowles was assigned to the following committees:
- Committee on Economic Development and Technical Colleges
- Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems
- Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chairman
- Transportation and Local Government Committee, Vice Chairman
2021-2022
Cowles was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Co-Chair
- Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair
- Transportation and Local Government Committee, Vice Chair
2019-2020
Cowles was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Co-Chair
- Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair
- Transportation, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Natural Resources and Energy, Chair |
| • Transportation and Veterans Affairs |
| • Information Policy and Technology |
| • Joint Legislative Audit, Co-chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Cowles served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Natural Resources and Energy, Chair |
| • Transportation and Veterans Affairs |
| • Information Policy and Technology |
| • Joint Legislative Audit, Co-Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Cowles served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Energy, Consumer Protection, and Government Reform, Chair |
| • State and Federal Relations, Vice Chair |
| • Transportation, Public Safety, and Veterans and Military Affairs |
| • Information Policy and Technology |
| • Joint Legislative Audit, Co-chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Cowles served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Audit, Co-Chair |
| • Energy, Biotechnology, and Consumer Protection, Chair |
| • Information Policy and Technology, Vice Chair |
| • Workforce Development, Small Business, and Tourism |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Cowles served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Audit |
| • Review of Administrative Rules |
| • Commerce, Utilities, Energy, and Rail |
| • Information Policy and Technology |
| • Audit |
| • Administrative Rules |
Issues
Notable proposed legislation
Cowles has authored and sponsored multiple bills, the most recent of which involve budget process reform, the prohibition of text-messaging while driving, access of employment records for law enforcement candidates, and state budget transparency.
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
- See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2024
Robert Cowles did not file to run for re-election.
2020
See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2020
General election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Tony Lee (D)
Democratic primary election
Republican primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- William Nething (R)
Campaign finance
2016
- See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Wisconsin State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.
Incumbent Robert Cowles defeated John Powers in the Wisconsin State Senate District 2 general election.[4][5]
| Wisconsin State Senate, District 2 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Robert Cowles Incumbent |
65.03% | 57,269 | |
| Democratic | John Powers | 34.97% | 30,796 | |
| Total Votes | 88,065 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections Commission |
John Powers ran unopposed in the Wisconsin State Senate District 2 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Wisconsin State Senate, District 2 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | John Powers (unopposed) |
Incumbent Robert Cowles ran unopposed in the Wisconsin State Senate District 2 Republican primary.[6][7]
| Wisconsin State Senate, District 2 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Robert Cowles Incumbent (unopposed) |
2012
Cowles ran unopposed for re-election in the 2012 election for Wisconsin State Senate, District 2. Cowles was unopposed in the August 14th primary election and the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert Cowles Incumbent |
98.5% | 64,192 | |
| - | Scattering | 1.5% | 951 | |
| Total Votes | 65,143 |
2011 recall
A 2011 recall attempt against Cowles failed, with Cowles defeating Nancy Nusbaum (D) on August 9.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin began a recall campaign targeting Cowles and 7 of his Republican colleagues in the Wisconsin State Senate in March 2011.
About 26,000 signatures to recall Cowles were filed on April 28, 2011. This was the ninth set of signatures filed in the sixteen different state senate recalls that were attempted in Wisconsin. Challenges to the petition were reviewed by the board on May 31.[10] At the meeting the GAB rejected most of the challenges, giving the go ahead for a recall election.[11] The Board officially certified the recall against Cowles on June 3, effectively setting the election for July 12. Since there was more than one opposing candidate a primary occurred on July 12, with the recall on August 9.
Opponents
Former Brown County board member Rich Langan announced on May 10 that he would run against Cowles in a recall election. However, Langan dropped out days later. Nancy Nusbaum replaced Langan, officially announcing her campaign on May 16. She was also a former member of the Brown County Board. Nusbaum defeated Otto Junkermann in the Democratic primary on July 12. Junkermann was the "protest candidate." Junkermann, when asked if he was a "spoiler candidate," replied, “I don’t know how I could avoid being considered that.” Nusbaum called the move "a mockery of the democratic process," and "a sign of desperation."
| July 12 Democratic primary[12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent |
Nancy Nusbaum 
|
14,197 | 65.04% |
| Otto Junkermann | 7,578 | 34.72% |
| Scattering | 54 | 0.25% |
- Mert Summers Note: Summers filed nomination papers with sufficient signatures but did not file final papers to be on the ballot.[13]
Cowles defeated Nusbaum in the August 9 recall.
| August 9 Recall - District 2[14] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent |
| Robert Cowles (R)
|
27,037 | 57.44% |
| Nancy Nusbaum (D) | 19,974 | 42.43% |
| Scattering | 62 | .13% |
2008
On November 4, 2008, Robert Cowles won re-election to the Wisconsin State Senate, District 2. He ran unopposed.[15]
Robert Cowles raised $14,234 for his campaign.[16]
| Wisconsin State Senate, District 2 (2008) | |
|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes |
| Robert Cowles (R)
|
60,507 |
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Robert Cowles did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Wisconsin scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2023, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 31.
|
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2022, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 18 to March 8.
|
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2021, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 4 to December 31.
|
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2020, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 14 to May 13.
|
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 7, 2019 through January 13, 2020.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2018, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 16 through March 27. Special sessions were held from January 1 through February 27 and from March 15 through March 29.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 3 through December 31. There were also special sessions. The first special session was January 5. The second special session was August 1 through September 15.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 15.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 5 through December 31.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 4.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 7 to December 31.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 16.
|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Senator Cowles," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Biography for Robert Cowles," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Dane Vest, "Cowles on DaneVest Tech Fund Advisors," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates on Ballot by Election - 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2016 Fall General Election Results," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commissions, "2016 Partisan Primary," accessed September 16, 2016
- ↑ Government Accountability Board, "2012 Fall Partisan Primary," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Government Accountability Board, "2012 Fall General Election," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Wis. Elections Staff Recommend Recalls Against Three GOPers," May 20, 2011
- ↑ 620 WTMJ, "GAB clears way for Cowles recall election," May 31, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board "July 12 primary election results District 2," accessed August 11, 2011
- ↑ WisPolitics, "WisDems: Dems to end placeholder candidacies in recall elections," June 17, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "District 2 Recall Election Results," accessed August 19, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Wisconsin State Election Results," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 contributions," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
Leadership
Senate President:Mary Felzkowski
Majority Leader:Devin LeMahieu
Minority Leader:Dianne Hesselbein
Senators
Republican Party (18)
Democratic Party (15)
