Kelda Roys

Kelda Roys
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 26th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
Preceded byFred Risser
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 81st district
In office
January 5, 2009 – January 7, 2013
Preceded byDavid Travis
Succeeded byFred Clark
Personal details
BornKelda Helen Roys
(1979-06-24) June 24, 1979
Marshfield, Wisconsin, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseDan Reed
Children3
2 stepchildren
EducationNew York University (BA)
University of Wisconsin, Madison (JD)
WebsiteOfficial website
Campaign website

Kelda Helen Roys (born June 24, 1979) is an American attorney, small business owner, and Democratic politician from Madison, Wisconsin. She is a member the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 26th Senate district since 2021. She previously served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 2009 to 2013. She is a current candidate in the Democratic Party primary for governor of Wisconsin in the 2026 election.[1] She previously ran unsuccessfully in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, and in the 2012 congressional primary for Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district.[2]

Early life and education

Kelda Roys was born on June 24, 1979, in Marshfield, Wisconsin.[3] During her early childhood she was raised in neighboring Medford and then Madison, Wisconsin, starting in first grade.[4] Roys graduated from Madison East High School in 1997.[5]

After graduating from high school, Roys began attending New York University in 1997. Initially, she majored in theater, but transferred to the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU halfway through her second year, where she began majoring in politics, drama, and cultural studies.[4] She graduated after three years, working a full time job in her senior year as a real-estate agent at The Marketing Directors, Inc. to help pay for college.[4] Roys earned a bachelor of arts from the university in 2000.[3] Roys then began attending the University of Wisconsin Law School, graduating in 2004 with a juris doctor, with a focus on civil rights and international law.[6] During her time at the law school, she worked for several international law firms in Turkey and the Netherlands.[4]

Early career

During law school, she worked at the Wisconsin Innocence Project, as well as several national and international law firms. After law school, she worked for four years as the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, where she successfully advocated for passage of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Act.[7]

In 2010, Roys, by then a member of the state assembly, joined the Madison-based law firm Wheeler, Van Sickle, & Anderson, S.C. as an attorney.[8]

In 2013, Roys founded a venture-backed real estate tech company, OpenHomes, a virtual real estate agency.[9]

Political career

In May 2007, fifteen-term Democratic state legislator David Travis announced he would not seek re-election, causing the seat to become open.[10] Roys began her campaign on the advice of then-Dane County executive Kathleen Falk.[11] During the primary campaign, with all major candidates sharing a liberal platform, Roys emphasized her experience at NARAL-Pro Choice Wisconsin, as well as supporting policies meant to ensure the state obtain 100% of its power from renewable energy by 2020. She narrowly defeated Justin Sargent, then a legislative aide to Democratic state senator Judy Robson, and also defeated lobbyist Eric Englund, Dane County assistant district attorney Tim Kiefer, Waunakee village president John Laubmeier, and business owner Peng Her.[12][13]

Roys went on to be elected unopposed in the general election.[14]

In November 2009, Roys authored the "BPA Free Kids Act" which would prohibit the manufacturing and sale of baby bottles and sippy cups that contained Bisphenol A.[15] The bill was passed by the state legislature on February 16, 2010, with the bill being signed into law by then-governor Jim Doyle on March 3, 2010.[16][17]

Roys was re-elected in 2010 unopposed.

After her re-election, Roys was selected by the caucus to be the Assembly Democratic caucus chair for the 100th Wisconsin Legislature.[3]

Roys supported legislation including public breastfeeding protections and a successful statewide ban of Bisphenol A, or "BPA."[18] Roys also publicly fought against 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, and had pledged to repeal the law if elected governor.[19]

In 2011, shortly before announcing her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives, Roys attended and spoke at a Pride rally, where she described going to Iowa to marry her partner. At the time, Iowa recognized same-sex marriage unlike in Wisconsin, although Roys' partner was a man, Dan Reed, and the two could have legally been married in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Republican Party portrayed the context and ambiguous phrasing Roys used as Roys "pretending to be gay"[20] while the executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy group Fair Wisconsin said "She was clearly trying to represent herself as a member of the LGBT community".[21] Roy's opponent in the 2012 primary, Mark Pocan, is gay, and reflected on the comments during Roys' 2018 run for governor, saying that Roys had made "a bad political calculation...I'm sure she's had six years to think about those things and probably regrets having done that."[22]

2012 congressional campaign

Main article: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin § District 2

In 2012, incumbent U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Herb Kohl.[23] Roys announced she would not seek re-election to the state assembly and instead would campaign to succeed Baldwin.[11] She faced fellow state legislator Mark Pocan, and candidates Matt Silverman and Dennis Hall, in a race where the two major candidates, Pocan and Roys, both touted their progressive credentials, with Roys attempting to portray Pocan as more moderate than herself.[24] During the campaign, Roys touted her endorsements, including from EMILY's List, and accused Pocan of making backroom political deals and accepting corporate donations.[25] Roys' attacks against Pocan, though, drew criticism from other Democrats, including state legislator Fred Clark, who rescinded his endorsement of Roys, and state legislator Janis Ringhand, who decided to endorse Pocan over the attacks.[26][25]

On election day, Roys was defeated in the primary by a larger-than-expected 51 point margin.[26]

2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

On December 11, 2017, Roys formed an exploratory committee to run for governor of Wisconsin.[27]

During the campaign, Roys ran once again as a progressive, focusing on issues such as a $15 minimum wage, student loan debt forgiveness and engaging with progressive voters.[28] She gained national attention when a campaign ad in which she breastfeeds her infant daughter went viral.[29] The ad drew attention to legislation Roys had supported during her time in the state assembly to ban the use of Bisphenol A in baby bottles, which is used in various plastic products and can linings.[30]

Roys won first place by 12 points in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention straw poll.[31] In July 2018, the Roys campaign announced that she had raised over $800,000.[32][33] In the primary election, Roys came in third out of the eight candidates, with Tony Evers winning the nomination and going on to defeat Scott Walker.[34]

Wisconsin State Senate

In March 2020, Fred Risser, the longest-serving legislator in American history, announced he would retire from his seat in the Wisconsin State Senate at the end of the current term.[35] Roys announced her candidacy to run for the open seat.[36] The race, in the heavily Democratic region of Dane County, Wisconsin, attracted six other candidates in a crowded Democratic primary, which was also defined by the COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin and the protests against institutional racism prompted by the murder of George Floyd. In the August primary, Roys prevailed over her six competitors, winning 40% of the vote. She was unopposed in the November general election, and assumed office in January 2021.[37][38]

In 2023, after Melissa Agard stepped down as Senate Democratic Caucus leader, Roys announced a bid to succeed her, but was defeated by Dianne Hesselbein.[39][40]

In 2024, Roys was re-elected unopposed.

In December 2024, Roys was selected to join the 2025-2026 Prenatal-to-Three Innovation Fellowship cohort hosted by the Future Caucus.[41][42]

In February 2025, Roys, alongside state representative Brienne Brown, proposed legislation to prevent landlords from engaging in price collusion.[43][44] In April 2025, Roys, alongside state representative Lisa Subeck, proposed the "Abortion Rights Restoration Act," which would establish a right to abortion in Wisconsin Law.[45]

Roys is a member of the Joint Committee on Finance, which is in charge of the state budget.[46] She co-leads the legislature's Reproductive Freedom Workgroup[47] and is a member of the LGBTQ+ caucus.[48]

2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

Throughout 2024 and into 2025, pundits in Wisconsin began speculating about whether governor Tony Evers, who would be 79 at the end of a potential third term, would run again.[49] Evers formally announced on July 24, 2025, that he would not run for re-election in 2026, with Roys expressing interest in running a month later.[50][51] Roys' decision, however, was delayed due to a fear of violence and personal attacks against herself and her family.[52] On September 15, 2025, Roys officially began a campaign for governor of Wisconsin, claiming that "extremists" like president Donald Trump and business owner Elon Musk were a threat to democracy in her campaign launch and calling to fund public education, make healthcare more affordable, and create new jobs in the state.[53]

Personal life

Roys has a husband, three children, and two stepdaughters.[54]

Her mother was a social worker, her stepfather was an environmental lawyer, and her father was a prosecutor and law enforcement officer.[55]

She is a secular humanist and a Unitarian Universalist.[56]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2008, 2010)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2008 Primary[57] Sep. 9 Kelda Helen Roys Democratic 1,960 31.10% Justin Sargent Dem. 1,683 26.71% 6,302 277
John W. Laubmeier Dem. 1,001 15.88%
Eric Englund Dem. 904 14.34%
Tim Kiefer Dem. 410 6.51%
Peng Her Dem. 337 5.35%
General[58] Nov. 4 Kelda Helen Roys Democratic 23,984 98.89% --Unopposed-- 24,253 23,715
2010 General[59] Nov. 2 Kelda Helen Roys (inc) Democratic 18,698 98.90% 18,906 18,490

U.S. House (2012)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2012 Primary[60] Aug. 14 Mark Pocan Democratic 43,171 72.16% Kelda Helen Roys Dem. 13,081 21.87% 59,826 30,090
Matt Silverman Dem. 2,365 3.95%
Dennis Hall Dem. 1,163 1.94%

Wisconsin Governor (2018)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2018 Primary[61] Aug. 14 Tony Evers Democratic 225,082 41.77% Mahlon Mitchell Dem. 87,926 16.32% 538,857 137,156
Kelda Helen Roys Dem. 69,086 12.82%
Kathleen Vinehout Dem. 44,168 8.20%
Mike McCabe Dem. 39,885 7.40%
Matt Flynn Dem. 31,580 5.86%
Paul Soglin Dem. 28,158 5.23%
Andy Gronik (withdrawn) Dem. 6,627 1.23%
Dana Wachs (withdrawn) Dem. 4,216 0.78%
Josh Pade Dem. 1,908 0.35%
Paul Boucher (write-in) Dem. 10 0.00%

Wisconsin Senate (2020–present)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2020 Primary[62] Aug. 11 Kelda Helen Roys Democratic 19,801 40.21% Nada Elmikashfi Dem. 13,220 26.84% 49,248 6,581
Brian Benford Dem. 4,699 9.54%
Amani Latimer Burris Dem. 4,370 8.87%
Aisha Moe Dem. 3,632 7.37%
John Imes Dem. 3,074 6.24%
William Henry Davis III Dem. 408 0.83%
General[63] Nov. 3 Kelda Helen Roys Democratic 102,569 98.16% --Unopposed-- 104,488 100,650
2024 General[64] Nov. 5 Kelda Helen Roys (inc) Democratic 94,495 98.41% 96,021 92,969

References

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