Rebecca Kleefisch steps down from women's suffrage commission citing family reasons
Molly Beck
MADISON - Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch is leaving her post as director of a national group celebrating women's suffrage a year before the milestone's 100th anniversary.
Kleefisch, a Republican who is eyeing a run for governor in 2022, said Thursday she was stepping away from directing the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission to spend more time with her husband and two daughters.
"It’s not that I didn’t love the history. I do. It’s not that I didn’t love my wonderful staff. I do! My family just can’t handle how much I’m gone to DC," Kleefisch wrote in a Facebook post. "Like just about every mother in Wisconsin, I sometimes struggle balancing work and family."
Kleefisch in January took over the role of directing the national group's work to recognize the August 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
She said Thursday the time away from Wisconsin became unsustainable.
"I try hard not to let it get lopsided, but I now have more clarity on how my time out of state was not awesome for my kids and husband," said Kleefisch, who is married to former state Rep. Joel Kleefisch.
The commission was created by Congress in 2017 to lead commemorative and educational efforts surrounding the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote. Kleefisch was one of 14 appointed members of the commission.
She took on the role of director after leaving her former job as lieutenant governor after former Gov. Scott Walker lost his re-election bid to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in November.
Sources close to Kleefisch told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in September she was laying the groundwork to run for governor in 2022, when Evers' first term is up.
"As you know, I am a planner, so I have some projects in the works that I promise I will tell you about in the future," Kleefisch wrote in her Thursday post. "Just know that my heart is, and always has been here, with my family, with you, and with Wisconsin."
A spokesman for Evers' campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.