Daniel Graan Riemer (born December 10, 1986) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

lawyer and Democratic politician from

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He was a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

, representing

Wisconsin's 7th Assembly district The 7th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district comprises part of central Milwaukee County, including parts of the cities of Milwaukee, West Allis, and ...

from January 2013 until January 2025.

Early life and education

Daniel Riemer was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, on December 10, 1986. His father, David Riemer, had been a policy advisor and budget director for former Wisconsin governor

Jim Doyle James Edward Doyle Jr. (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican governor Scott M ...

. Daniel Riemer attended

Milwaukee Public Schools Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The system is one of the largest i ...

and graduated from Milwaukee's

Rufus King High School Rufus King International High School, or Rufus King, is a public Magnet school, magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school is ranked the 1,658th best public high ...

in 2005. He went on to earn his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 2009 and subsequently attended the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

, but his education was interrupted by his entrance into politics.

Political career

In 2011, Wisconsin Republicans held complete control of state government and passed a partisan

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

plan that drastically redrew the State Assembly map. The 7th Assembly district, previously dominated by the Milwaukee suburb Greenfield, was redrawn to stretch from

West Allis West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census, making it the eleventh-most populous city in Wisconsin. His ...

and West Milwaukee, across part of Greenfield, containing neighborhoods of the city of Milwaukee's south side. The new district contained just 1/3 of the previous constituents. Riemer launched a

primary challenge In U.S. politics, a primary challenge is when an incumbent holding elective office is challenged by a member of their own political party in a primary election. Such events, known informally as "being primaried," are noteworthy and not frequent i ...

against Democrat Peggy Krusick in 2012 for her more conservative positions and stances on abortion, with her being endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life. At the time, Krusick had been in the Assembly for nearly 30 years—longer than Riemer had been alive. Riemer prevailed in the primary with 67% of the vote and there were no other major party candidates appearing on the general election ballot. Krusick decided to run a

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

campaign for the general election, touting her moderate record, but Riemer won a large majority in the new district. Riemer returned to law school on a part-time basis during the Fall of 2012; he ultimately graduated with his J.D. in December 2013 and was admitted to the

State Bar of Wisconsin The State Bar of Wisconsin (SBW) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court for all attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license, the State Bar of Wisconsin aids the courts i ...

in April 2014. Riemer has been reelected five times. In 2021, Riemer began a brief run for

Mayor of Milwaukee This is a list of mayors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following the election of Socialist Emil Seidel as mayor of Milwaukee in 1910, Wisconsin legislators passed a bill in 1912 to declare most local offices across the state as officially non-parti ...

in 2021 following the resignation of Mayor Tom Barrett, but withdrew from the race before the filing deadline. Riemer made 2022 his last campaign for office, as he announced he would retire from the state assembly at the end of the 2023 session to spend time with his family.

Personal life

Riemer married Paula Phillips on July 30, 2017. His wife was elected to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors while she and Riemer were engaged, in April 2017, but she did not run for re-election in 2021. Riemer and his family live on Milwaukee's south side.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2012–2022)

References

External links

* *
Representative Daniel Riemer
at

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

Official website

Campaign website (Archived June 14, 2013)

7th Assembly District map (2011–2021)
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riemer, Daniel 1986 births Living people Politicians from Milwaukee Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly University of Chicago alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Lawyers from Milwaukee 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature