Howard L. Marklein (born October 3, 1954) is an American Republican politician and retired accountant and fraud examiner from

Iowa County, Wisconsin Iowa County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,709. Its county seat and largest city is Dodgeville. When created, it was part of the Michigan Territory. Iowa County is part of the Madiso ...

. He is a member of the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...

, representing

Wisconsin's 17th Senate district Wisconsin's 17th Senate district is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate. Located in southwest Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Crawford County, Wisconsin, Crawford, Grant County, Wisconsin, Grant, Green County, Wisconsin, Green, ...

since 2015; he was president pro tempore of the Senate from 2017 through 2021, and is now the Senate co-chair of the Legislature's influential Joint Finance Committee. Previously, he served four years in 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 the 51st Assembly district.

Early life and education

Howard Marklein was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, and raised on a dairy farm in rural

Spring Green Spring Green or spring green may refer to: Colors * Spring green ** Spring bud, formerly known as spring green Plants * Spring greens, edible young leaves of certain plants * Spring greens (Brassica oleracea), vegetables Places in the United S ...

, where he continues to reside. He graduated from River Valley High School in 1972 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in 1976. After college, Howard worked for First Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee (now

U.S. Bancorp U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American multinational financial services firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and incorporated in Delaware. It is the 5th-largest bank in the United States as of 2025. As the largest bank i ...

). He was recruited by Virchow, Krause, & Company, LLP (now Baker Tilly US, LLP) to work in their Dodgeville office. In 1979, he obtained his

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

(CPA) certification. Shortly after earning his CPA, Howard was promoted and transferred to the Whitewater and Fort Atkinson offices of Virchow, Krause, & Company, LLP. In 1984, he was promoted to Partner in the firm. Later, his practice was focused on forensic accounting and white collar crime investigations, for which he also became a

Certified Fraud Examiner The Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) is a credential awarded by the '' Association of Certified Fraud Examiners'' (ACFE) since 1989. The ACFE association is a provider of anti-fraud training and education. Founded in 1988 by Dr. Joseph T Wells. The ...

(CFE). He is now retired from this career.

Political career

Howard was elected to the

in 2010, representing the 51st Assembly district, and was re-elected in 2012. On April 7, 2013, Marklein announced that he would launch a primary challenge against incumbent state senator Dale Schultz. Schultz, a moderate Republican who sometimes crossed over and voted with Democrats, chose not to run for re-election after Marklein jumped out to an early lead in fundraising. With Schultz out of the race, Marklein won the nomination without opposition and went on to defeat Democrat Pat Bomhack in the general election. He was elected by the Republican caucus as president pro tempore of the Senate for the 2017 and 2019 sessions. In 2021, he became the Senate co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee—the Wisconsin Legislature's powerful budget-writing committee. He retained that chairmanship in the 2023–2024 session.

Personal life and family

Howard Marklein married Peggy McNeil, a registered nurse. They have two adult children, three stepchildren, and six grandchildren.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2010, 2012)

Wisconsin Senate (2014–present)

References

External links

Official (Senate) website

Senator Howard L. Marklein
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 ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marklein, Howard 1954 births Living people Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Spring Green, Wisconsin Politicians from Sauk County, Wisconsin Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Whitewater alumni Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature