Madison Reporter

After spending about 12 years in office, Rep. Jim Steineke has announced that he won't be seeking reelection this fall.

"From beginning to end, I've had the best staff in the Capitol, which made this decision difficult," tweeted Jim Steineke.

Steineke is the majority leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly. While Steineke was in office, he has been part of several monumental reforms like the rebalancing of the state's finances, prevailing wage reforms, right-to-work legislation and Act 10.

Representatives are elected for two-year terms. Steineke has won four consecutive terms. 

"Serving as an elected representative has been one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my life," Steineke said. "However, I firmly believe the time has come to pass the torch and allow for others in our community to step forward and serve their neighbors." 

Steineke also indicated that the increasing division between the Wisconsin Democrats and Republicans certainly played a role in this decision not to seek reelection. 

"For the first eight years of my career, we were able to get things done fairly easily and quickly," Steineke said. "And now, not so much. Because the legislature and the governor just seem not to communicate very well. The toxicity is a real problem."

He plans to return to the private sector. 

"As I refocus my efforts on returning to the private sector in the weeks and months ahead, I remain committed to doing everything in my power to advance conservative policies and serve as a check against the governor and his administration to prevent extreme ideologies from being enacted," Steineke said.