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Melissa Ratcliff

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Melissa Ratcliff
Member-elect of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 16th district
Assuming office
January 6 2025
SucceedingMelissa Agard
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 46th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byGary Hebl
Member of the Board of Supervisors of Dane County, Wisconsin, from the 36th district
In office
September 6, 2018 – April 16, 2024
Preceded byDanielle Williams
Succeeded byDavid Peterson
Personal details
Born
Melissa Amy Larsen

November 1976 (1976-11) (age 48)
Wausau, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • Daniel Kartes
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1995; div. 1998)​
  • Philip Ratcliff
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2002; div. 2023)​
Children2
ResidenceCottage Grove, Wisconsin
Alma materMadison Area Technical College
OccupationParalegal
WebsiteCampaign website

Melissa Amy Ratcliff (née Larsen; born November 1976) is an American paralegal and Democratic politician from Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 46th Assembly district since January 2023. She served as a member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors from September 2018 until April 2024. She served on the Cottage Grove Village Board of Trustees from April 2018 to December 16, 2022.

Biography

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Melissa Ratcliff was born Melissa Larsen and was raised in Wausau, Wisconsin. She graduated from Wausau East High School in 1995.[1] She earned her paralegal certification from Madison Area Technical College and has worked for over 20 years as a paralegal at the Eisenberg Law Offices in Madison, Wisconsin.[2]

Political career

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In the Spring of 2018, Ratcliff won her first public office when she was elected to the Cottage Grove village board.[3] Later that year, in the summer of 2018, incumbent Dane County board member Danielle Williams resigned her seat in order to accept a job as a lobbyist for the county government. The Dane County board chair, Sharon Corrigan, chose Ratcliff from a number of applicants to fill out the remainder of Williams' term, and Ratcliff's selection was ratified by a vote of the county board on September 6, 2018.[4] She was subsequently elected in spring of 2019 to finish the term, elected to a full term on the board in the 2020 Spring election and was re-elected in 2022.

Just after the Spring 2022 election, incumbent state representative Gary Hebl announced he would retire after nine terms in the Assembly. Within hours of his announcement, Ratcliff entered the race for the Democratic nomination in Hebl's 46th Assembly district.[5] Ultimately, four other candidates would also join the Democratic primary contest in the heavily Democratic district. Ratcliff centered her experience with local and county government, and ultimately prevailed in the primary with 36% of the vote.[6] Her opponent in the general election was Andrew McKinney, who she had earlier defeated in the April 2022 county board election. She ultimately won 70% of the vote in the general election.[7]

In 2023, incumbent state senator Melissa Agard announced she would run for Dane County executive rather than seeking another term representing the 16th Senate district. The 16th Senate district was one of the safest Democratic districts in the state, comprising most of the city of Madison. Ratcliff quickly announced her candidacy to succeed Agard in the Senate, and faced a Democratic primary against both of the other incumbent state representatives in the district, Jimmy P. Anderson and Samba Baldeh. Ratcliff ultimately prevailed, taking 52% of the vote.[8] She was unopposed in the general election and will be sworn in as state senator January 6, 2025.

Personal life and family

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Melissa Larsen married Daniel Kartes in August 1995,[1] but ultimately divorced three years later.[9] Subsequently, she married Philip Ratcliff and took his last name. Melissa and Philip Ratcliff have two children together and reside in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. They were divorced in June, 2023.[3]

Electoral history

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Dane County Board (2020, 2022)

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Dane County Board of Supervisors, 36th District Election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 7, 2020[10]
Nonpartisan Melissa Ratcliff (incumbent) 3,427 98.65%
Scattering 47 1.35%
Total votes 3,474 100.0%
Dane County Board of Supervisors, 36th District Election, 2022
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 5, 2022[11]
Nonpartisan Melissa Ratcliff (incumbent) 1,132 64.69%
Nonpartisan Andrew McKinney 605 34.57%
Scattering 13 0.74%
Total votes 1,750 100.0% -49.63%

Wisconsin Assembly (2022)

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Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2022 Primary[12] Sep. 8 Melissa Ratcliff Democratic 3,112 36.22% Syed Abbas Dem. 1,895 22.05% 8,593 1,217
Andrew Hysell Dem. 1,525 17.75%
Analiese Eicher Dem. 1,178 13.71%
Mike Jacobs Dem. 876 10.19%
General[13] Nov. 3 Melissa Ratcliff Democratic 20,710 69.65% Andrew McKinney Rep. 9,001 30.27% 29,735 11,709

Wisconsin Senate (2024)

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Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2024 Primary[8] Aug. 13 Melissa Ratcliff Democratic 17,205 52.04% Jimmy Anderson Dem. 10,258 31.03% 33,063 6,947
Samba Baldeh Dem. 5,575 16.86%
General Nov. 5 Melissa Ratcliff Democratic --Unopposed--

References

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  1. ^ a b "Kartes-Larsen". Wausau Daily Herald. March 19, 1995. p. 47. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Candidate Q&A: Assembly District 46 Democratic Primary". Wisconsin State Journal. June 30, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "About Melissa". Melissa Ratcliff for Assembly. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Becker, Abigail (September 7, 2018). "Dane County Board confirms Melissa Ratcliff as District 36 supervisor". The Capital Times. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  5. ^ De Laruelle, Scott (April 13, 2022). "Hebl won't seek re-election; Ratcliff to run for 46th district seat". The Stoughton Courier Hub. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  6. ^ Canvass Results for 2022 Partisan Primary - 8/9/2022 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2022. pp. 41–42. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  7. ^ Canvass Results for 2022 General Election - 11/8/2022 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 21, 2022. p. 19. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  8. ^ a b County by County Report - 2024 Partisan Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2024. p. 8. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  9. ^ Dane County Case Number 1998FA000833 Melissa Kartes vs Daniel Kartes (Report). Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  10. ^ 2020 Spring & Presidential Preference Election - County Supervisor District 36 - Official Canvass (Report). Dane County Clerk. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  11. ^ 2022 Spring Election - County Supervisor District 36 - Official Canvass (Report). Dane County Clerk. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  12. ^ Canvass Results for 2022 Partisan Primary - 8/9/2022 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2022. pp. 41–42. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  13. ^ Canvass Results for 2022 General Election - 11/8/2022 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 21, 2022. p. 19. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
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Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 46th district
January 3, 2023 – present 		Incumbent
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