Louis Molepske

Louis John Molepske Jr. (born January 6, 1974) is an American attorney, judge, and Democratic politician. He is a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Portage County, Wisconsin, since 2022. He previously served nine years as district attorney, and was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for ten years before that.^[1]

Louis Molepske
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Portage Circuit, Branch 2
Incumbent
Assumed office August 1, 2022
Preceded by	Robert J. Shannon
Portage County District Attorney
In office January 7, 2013 – June 2022
Preceded by	Thomas B. Eagon
Succeeded by	Cass Cousins
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 71st district
In office August 11, 2003 – January 7, 2013
Preceded by	Julie Lassa
Succeeded by	Katrina Shankland
Personal details
Born	(1974-01-06) January 6, 1974 (age 51) Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Raquel Lynn Vechinski ​ ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	3
Residence	Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison Marquette University Law School
Profession	attorney
Website	Campaign website

Early life and education

Louis Molepske was born and raised in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He graduated from Stevens Point Area Senior High School in 1993 and went on to earn his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He then attended Marquette University Law School, where he earned his J.D. in 2001.^[2] While in high school, he wrote for a student section included in the Stevens Point daily newspaper, the Stevens Point Journal.^[3]

Political career

After completing law school, he went to work in the city government of Stevens Point. He first worked as an assistant to his father, the city attorney, and then as an assistant to the mayor, Gary Wescott, and finally as a special prosecutor in the office of the district attorney, Tom Eagon.^[4]

In 2002, incumbent state senator Kevin Shibilski was indicted for fraud, which led to his resignation and the election of state representative Julie Lassa as his replacement. Lassa's elevation created a vacancy in Wisconsin's 71st Assembly district, and Molepske chose to enter the race for the open seat.^[4] He narrowly prevailed in the low-turnout special election, receiving 37% of the vote in a four-way race.^[5] At the time he was sworn in, Molepske was the second youngest state legislator at 29 years old. He went on to win re-election four times.^[6]

In the April 2012 election, Molepske's former boss, district attorney Tom Eagon, was elected a Wisconsin circuit court judge. Molepske soon announced that, rather than running for another term in the Assembly, he would instead run for district attorney. He faced only one opponent in the race, the senior assistant district attorney, Veronica Isherwood, in the Democratic primary.^[7] Molepske won 65% of the vote in the primary and was unopposed in the general election.^[8] He was re-elected without opposition in 2016 and 2020.

In the Fall of 2021, incumbent Wisconsin circuit court judge Robert J. Shannon filed his paperwork to indicate he would not run for re-election in 2022. Molepske entered the race for the judicial post; he defeated attorney Stephen W. Sawyer in the Spring general election and was sworn in in August 2022.^[9]

Personal life and family

Louis Molepske is a fifth-generation resident of Portage County, Wisconsin. His father is also an attorney and was in public office as city attorney of Stevens Point;^[4] his grandfather was a prominent realtor.^[10]

Louis Molepske married Raquel Vechinski, a nurse practitioner from Wisconsin Rapids, in October 2013.^[11] They have three children now and reside in Stevens Point.^[6]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2003–2010)

Wisconsin Assembly, 71st District Special Election, 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Special Election, July 22, 2003[5]
	Democratic	Louis J. Molepske Jr.	2,628	37.09%	−35.33%
	Republican	Jackie Szehner	2,492	35.17%	+7.68%
	Green	Amy Heart	1,011	14.27%
	Democratic	Jo Seiser (write-in)	946	13.35%
	Write-in		9	0.13%
Plurality			136	1.92%	-43.01%
Total votes			7,086	100.0%	-60.69%

Portage County District Attorney (2012, 2016, 2020)

Portage County, Wisconsin, District Attorney Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic Primary, August 14, 2012[8]
	Democratic	Louis J. Molepske Jr.	4,077	64.86%
	Democratic	Veronica Isherwood	2,204	35.06%
	Write-in		5	0.08%
Plurality			1,873	29.80%
Total votes			6,286	100.0%
General Election, November 6, 2012[9]
	Democratic	Louis J. Molepske Jr.	27,308	97.42%
	Write-in		724	2.58%
Total votes			28,032	100.0%

Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge (2022)

Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge, Portage Circuit, Branch 2 Election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 5, 2022[9]
	Nonpartisan	Louis J. Molepske Jr.	9,454	56.17%
	Nonpartisan	Stephen W. Sawyer	7,357	43.71%
	Write-in		21	0.12%
Plurality			2,097	12.46%
Total votes			16,832	100.0%