Mary Jean Felzkowski (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Behling; born September 25, 1963) is an American businesswoman and Republican politician from northern

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 ...

. She 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 12th Senate district since 2021. She previously served eight 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 ...

, and was assistant minority leader in the 2019–2020 session. She was known as Mary Czaja until her second marriage in 2016. On many official documents after 2017, including the 2018 and 2020 election ballots, her name appeared as Mary Czaja-Felzkowski.

Early life and education

Mary Felzkowski was born Mary Jean Behling on September 25, 1963. She graduated from Tomahawk High School before earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Finance and Economics from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.

Career

Felzkowski is the owner of CIS Insurance Group in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. In November 2012, she was elected to the

as a Republican, succeeding Tom Tiffany, who was elected to the

Wisconsin State 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 o ...

. Felzkowski is a supporter of

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to cannabis products and cannabinoid molecules that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has a long history, but has not ...

, and submitted a measure to legalize it in

. Felzkowski has also advocated against the expansion of

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

. She was chosen by the Republican caucus as the assistant majority leader in the 2019–2020 session. After incumbent state senator Tom Tiffany was elected to Congress in a 2020 special election, Felzkowski announced that she would run for the seat he was vacating in the

. She was unopposed in the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, and went on to defeat Democrat Ed Vocke in the 2020 general election. Following the 2024 Wisconsin Senate elections, Felzkowski was elected to be the Senate president going into the 107th Wisconsin Legislature.

Personal life

Felzkowski has been married twice and has five children. She took the name Mary Czaja after marrying her first husband Bruce Czaja; they divorced in 2011. She subsequently married Jeffery James Felzkowski on December 31, 2016, and took the name Mary Felzkowski. She is a former president of Tomahawk Main Street, Inc., a community organization of Tomahawk businesses, and a former board member and national director of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. She is a lifetime member of the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2012–2018)

Wisconsin Senate (2020, 2024)

References

External links

Official (Senate) website

Senator Mary Felzkowski
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 ...

* https://ldftribe.com/dynamic/images/features/Banishment_57.pdf Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians' Tribal Council passed a resolution to banish Wisconsin State Senator Mary Felzkowski from the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation. * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Felzkowski, Mary 1963 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature Businesspeople from Wisconsin Living people People from Tomahawk, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators University of Wisconsin–River Falls alumni Women state legislators in Wisconsin