David Armstrong (Wisconsin politician)

David B. Armstrong (born 1961/1962) is an American politician and local administrator. A Republican, he represents the 75th district of the Wisconsin State Assembly. The 75th district comprises Barron County, the southern half of Washburn County, and several neighboring towns in Polk, St. Croix, and Dunn counties in northwestern Wisconsin. He was elected in November 2020.

For other people named David Armstrong, see David Armstrong (disambiguation).
Dave Armstrong
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 75th district
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
Preceded byRomaine Quinn
Member of the Rice Lake City Council
In office
April 2009 – April 2013
Personal details
Born1961/1962 (age 58–59)
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Janell Goettl
Children4
ResidenceRice Lake, Wisconsin
Occupationpolitician
Website

Early career

Armstrong was active in the substance abuse testing industry, working as a vice president at Healthcomp Evaluation Services Corporation and then ClinNet Solutions. The latter was acquired by ADP in 2004.[1] Armstrong's autobiographical website further states that he was the founder of two other health-related companies earlier in his career, both of which were acquired.[1]

Political career

In 2009, Armstrong was elected to the Rice Lake city council, ultimately serving until 2013.[1] Also in 2009, he joined the board of the Rice Lake Cable Commission, where he served until 2020. While on the City Council, in 2010, he was appointed to the board of the Barron County Economic Development Corporation and was chosen as executive director of the organization in 2012—a position he still holds. He also currently serves on the Rice Lake Utilities Commission, since 2015.[1]

In March 2020, incumbent assemblymember Romaine Quinn announced he would not seek a fourth term in the Wisconsin State Assembly.[2] Within days, Armstrong announced he would be a candidate for the Republican nomination to replace Quinn in the 75th assembly district.[3] Armstrong did not face an opponent in the Republican primary and went on to face Democrat John C. Ellenson, a former Wisconsin Badgers basketball player, in the November general election.[4][5]

Armstrong ran into significant controversy in September 2020 when a review of his Twitter feed found that he had been posting and retweeting messages from the QAnon conspiracy theory.[6] When asked about it, Armstrong did not disavow the conspiracy and instead said that he finds the core claims credible.[7] A further review found years of racism, misogyny, religious bigotry, and conspiracy theories in his feed. In the days just after the 2015 Charleston church shooting, he posted a series of racist tweets, including one featuring a video from Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.[8] Armstrong was also apparently outraged by subsequent bipartisan vote in Congress to ban the Confederate flag, as he then promised to stop donating to the Republican Party as punishment for their act.[8] Reacting to the outrage in 2020 over the David Duke video, Armstrong apologized and stated that he didn't know where he found the video, hadn't watched the full video, and wasn't a supporter of the KKK.[8][9] The tweets and Facebook posts were compiled by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in an attack webpage, called The Real Dave Armstrong.[10] Despite the controversy, Armstrong won the election with 60% of the vote—roughly the same percentage that his predecessor had achieved in the 2018 election.[11]

Personal life and family

Dave Armstrong and his wife Janell reside in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. They have four adult children and several grandchildren.[1]

Armstrong has been involved with many volunteer organizations in Rice Lake and Barron County. He was president of the Humane Society of Barron County, after serving as co-president from 2009. He was vice president of a local anti-poverty nonprofit organization known as Community Connections to Prosperity from 2016 to 2019. He was a board member of Wisconsin Voices for Recovery, a nonprofit for anti-addiction services. He is a current board member of the Law Enforcement Foundation of Barron County and the Barron County Historical Society.[1]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2020)
Wisconsin Assembly, 75th District Election, 2020[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 2020
Republican David Armstrong 20,108 62.33% +0.16%
Democratic John C. Ellenson 12,141 37.64% -0.18%
Scattering 9 0.04%
Plurality 7,967 24.70% +0.34%
Total votes 32,258 100.0% +34.39%
Republican hold

References
  1. "About Dave Armstrong". Elect Dave Armstrong. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  2. "Quinn not seeking Assembly re-election". The Rice Lake Chronotype. March 16, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  3. "Armstrong running for 75th District Assembly seat". The Rice Lake Chronotype. March 31, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  4. Polzin, Jim (July 26, 2020). "Former Wisconsin Badgers forward John Ellenson says timing right to run for Assembly seat". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  5. "Armstrong, Ellenson face off for 75th Assembly seat". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. October 13, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  6. Cooper, Jonathan J.; Karnowski, Steve (September 6, 2020). "QAnon conspiracy emerges in some state legislative races". Associated Press. Retrieved December 22, 2020 – via ABC News.
  7. "Wisconsin Republicans Embrace QAnon Conspiracy Theory". Democratic Party of Wisconsin (Press release). September 8, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020 – via Urban Milwaukee.
  8. Bice, Daniel (September 15, 2020). "Bice: GOP candidate posted video featuring ex-KKK leader David Duke and tweets in support of Confederate flag". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  9. Johnson, Shawn (August 16, 2020). "Wisconsin Assembly Battle Could Hinge On Suburban Districts". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  10. "The Real Dave Armstrong". Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  11. Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 25. Retrieved December 22, 2020.


Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by
Romaine Quinn		 Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 75th district
January 4, 2021 – present		 Incumbent
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