Joe Wineke


Joseph S. Wineke is an American politician. He served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Wisconsin State Senate and was elected for two terms as the Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He was succeeded by Mike Tate.

Early life and career

Wineke graduated from Verona Area High School in 1975. He graduated with a B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1980. He served on the Verona City Council from 1980 to 1983. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly and served from 1983 to 1993, when he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in the April 1993 special election. Wineke was reelected in 1994.

Political career

In 1998, Wineke ran for the open seat being vacated by United States Representative Scott Klug in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was defeated in the Democratic primary, receiving 27 percent of the vote. Tammy Baldwin won both the primary and general election.
Wineke was elected the chairperson of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in 2005. He served the limit of two terms, and was succeeded by Mike Tate, who was elected in June 2009. He went on to serve as the Executive Director of the Construction Labor-Management Council of Greater Wisconsin Inc. The Council was created in 1990 as a joint effort between building trades unions and contractors to promote a better construction industry. Wineke currently serves as the Administrator of the State of Wisconsin Division of Compensation and Labor Relations.

Personal life

Wineke was born in Madison and raised in Verona, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Debora, have four children, Scott, Brian, Jessica, and “2Tone”