Thomas G. Reynolds

Tom Reynolds
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 6, 2003 – January 1, 2007
Preceded byPeggy Rosenzweig
Succeeded byJim Sullivan
Personal details
Born (1956-12-16) December 16, 1956
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse
Sandy Reynolds
​
(div. 2012)​
Children5

Thomas Gerald Reynolds (born December 16, 1956) is an American businessman and former politician from West Allis, Wisconsin. He served one term in the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 5th Senate district from 2003 to 2007. Reynolds was described at the time as an ultra-conservative religious Republican, he won office after defeating a Republican incumbent in a primary challenge. In office, he was also known for eccentricities and odd behavior, including the firing of his entire staff "for disloyalty" just before Christmas 2005.

Before winning his Senate election, he made several unsuccessful bids for election to the U.S. House of Representatives. After losing re-election in 2006, he set up a short-lived political action committee to support conservative candidates in the 2008 Democratic Party legislative primaries.[1]

Biography

Reynolds was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from Nathan Hale High School in 1975. In addition to serving in the state senate, Reynolds is the owner of a printing business and an organic-practicing farm. He has five children.

Reynolds was elected to the Wisconsin Senate in 2002 after defeating incumbent Sen. Peggy Rosenzweig, who Reynolds claimed was too liberal, in the Republican primary that April. Before his defeat in 2006, he sat on the Committee on Housing and Financial Institutions, the Committee on Job Creation, Economic Development and Consumer Affairs, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, and chaired the Committee on Labor and Election Process Reform.[2] He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Democrat Jim Sullivan.[3]

In 2008, Reynolds set up a political action committee to support conservative candidates in the 2008 Democratic Party legislative primaries. The PAC, known as Clean Sweep Wisconsin supported eight candidates, two of them failed to make the ballot, and the other six lost their primaries.[4]

In 2010, Reynolds' wife filed for divorce. Their divorce was granted in 2012, but litigation dragged into 2013. Reynolds frequently represented himself in court. In August 2013, Reynolds was briefly jailed for contempt of court due to failure to comply with several court orders.[5]

Electoral history

U.S. House (1994, 1996, 1998)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1994[6] General Nov. 8 Jerry Kleczka (inc) Democratic 93,789 53.69% Tom Reynolds Rep. 78,225 44.78% 174,689 15,564
James H. Hause Tax. 2,611 1.49%
1996[7] Primary Sep. 10 Tom Reynolds Republican 17,892 59.04% J. Mac Davis Rep. 11,676 38.53% 30,304 6,216
Gary G. Wetzel Rep. 736 2.43%
General Nov. 5 Jerry Kleczka (inc) Democratic 134,470 57.64% Tom Reynolds Rep. 98,438 42.20% 233,284 36,032
1998[8] General Nov. 3 Jerry Kleczka (inc) Democratic 105,841 57.93% Tom Reynolds Rep. 76,666 41.96% 182,701 29,175

Wisconsin Senate (2002, 2006)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2002 Primary[9] Sep. 10 Tom Reynolds Republican 5,673 53.73% Peggy Rosenzweig (inc) Rep. 4,882 46.24% 10,559 791
General[10] Nov. 5 Tom Reynolds Republican 31,693 52.85% George L. Christenson Dem. 28,021 46.73% 59,970 3,672
2006 General[11] Nov. 7 Jim Sullivan Democratic 31,693 51.68% Tom Reynolds (inc) Rep. 33,686 48.16% 69,943 2,462

References

  1. ↑ "Reynolds, Tom 1956". www.wisconsinhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11.
  2. ↑ "Wisconsin State Senate". Sen. Tom Reynolds. Archived from the original on March 4, 2006. Retrieved March 27, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Jim Sullivan for Senate". Jim Sullivan. Archived from the original on January 31, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2006.
  4. ↑ Kaiser, Lisa (June 30, 2008). "Clean Sweep's Fake Democrats Make the Ballot". The Shepherd Express. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  5. ↑ Bice, Daniel (August 30, 2013). "Former Sen. Tom Reynolds jailed for contempt of court". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  6. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (1995). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin 1995–1996 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 916. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  7. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (1997). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin 1997–1998 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 879, 882. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  8. ↑ Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (1999). "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin 1999–2000 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 863. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  9. ↑ Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/10/2002 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. September 24, 2002. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Results of Fall General Election - 11/05/2002 (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 2, 2002. p. 9. Archived from the original on October 9, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 5, 2006. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
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