Lindee Brill
Lindee Brill | |
|---|---|
| Member-elect of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 27th district | |
| Assuming office January 6, 2025 | |
| Succeeding | Amy Binsfeld |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lindee Rae Claerbout June 27, 1981 Kohler, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin |
| Education | Hope College (B.A.) |
| Occupation | Marketing |
| Website | Campaign website |
Lindee Rae Brill (née Claerbout; born June 27, 1981) is an American marketing professional and Republican politician from Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. She is a member-elect of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and will represent Wisconsin's 27th Assembly district in the 2025–2026 term. She was also previously known as Lindee Rae Salazar, during her first marriage.
Early life and education
[edit]Lindee Brill was born Lindee Claerbout, in June 1981 at Kohler, Wisconsin, just outside of Sheboygan.[1] She was raised in the Sheboygan area, graduating from Oostburg High School in 1999.[2] She went on to attend Hope College in Holland, Michigan, earning her bachelor's degree in 2003, studying management and Spanish.[3] While attending Hope College, she spent a semester abroad at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.[4]
After graduating from college, she worked for about a year in human resources at Sterling Plumbing in Union City, Tennessee, before returning to the Sheboygan area as human resources director for Dutchland Plastics in 2005. She had previously worked at Dutchland in entry-level roles during high school.[5] Over the next 2 decades, she worked in marketing for a number of other Sheboygan businesses and nonprofits, including the Sheboygan County YMCA, Oostburg State Bank, and Anchor of Hope Health Center (a pro-life pregnancy center), and finally Samaritan's Hand (an addiction treatment center).
Political career
[edit]Brill made her first run for elected office in 2024, when she announced that she would run for Wisconsin State Assembly in the 27th Assembly district. The 27th district had been represented by Amy Binsfeld, but the 2024 redistricting act had dramatically redrawn the districts in the Sheboygan area, and Binsfield was drawn out of the district. Another Republican incumbent, Terry Katsma, was drawn into the district, but chose to retire. The new 27th district was safely Republican, and Brill faced a challenging Republican Party primary against Oostburg village president Brian Hilbelink.[6] The primary was fiercely contested, and Brill was a target of negative ads from a PAC called Stronger Wisconsin Fund, which advertised against several Republican primary candidates. The PAC was funded by another PAC, known as Americans for Security Inc., which had also been a major contributor to a PAC which exclusively supported Republican Assembly speaker Robin Vos.[7] Brill won the primary by just 249 votes.[8] She easily won the general election with 67% of the vote.[9] She is set to take office in January 2025.
Personal life and family
[edit]Lindee Brill is one of two children born to Daven and Teresa (née Wachter) Claerbout. Her mother was an active volunteer for the Republican Party and pro-life causes.[10]
Lindee Claerbout took the lats name Salazar when she married Cesar Salazar in 2009.[11] They had been coworkers at Dutchland Plastics, but divorced just two years later.[12]
Lindee subsequently married Eric J. Brill of Sheboygan and took his last name. They have 3 children and reside in the town of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin.
Electoral history
[edit]Wisconsin Assembly (2024)
[edit]| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Primary[8] | Aug. 13 | Lindee Rae Brill | Republican | 4,670 | 51.33% | Brian Hilbelink | Rep. | 4,421 | 48.59% | 9,098 | 249 |
| General[9] | Nov. 5 | Lindee Rae Brill | Republican | 25,477 | 67.66% | Kay Ladson | Dem. | 12,139 | 32.24% | 37,657 | 13,338 | |
References
[edit]- ^ "Births". The Sheboygan Press. June 29, 1981. p. 2. Retrieved December 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rentmeester, Kurt (May 27, 1999). "Find value in whatever course you choose, Oostburg grads told". The Sheboygan Press. p. 3. Retrieved December 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lindee Claerbout". The Sheboygan Press. September 29, 2003. p. 7. Retrieved December 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Campus Corner". The Sheboygan Press. December 25, 2001. p. 15. Retrieved December 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Claerbout joins Dutchland in HR". The Sheboygan Press. July 10, 2005. p. 27. Retrieved December 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "27th Assembly District". Wisconsin State Journal. June 11, 2024. p. A5. Retrieved December 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wisconsin GOP divided over dark money influence". Fond du Lac Times. August 23, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ a b County by County Report - 2024 Partisan Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2024. p. 126. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ a b County by County Report - 2024 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 27, 2024. p. 27. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ "Teresa Claerbout". The Sheboygan Press. August 5, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ "Claerbout-Salazar". The Sheboygan Press. March 29, 2009. p. 18. Retrieved December 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sheboygan County Case Number 2011FA000024 In RE the marriage of Lindee Rae Salazar and Cesar Salazar". Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2024.