Kelda Roys | |
|---|---|
| Member of theWisconsin Senate from the26th district | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Fred Risser |
| Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from the81st district | |
| In office January 5, 2009 – January 7, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | David Travis |
| Succeeded by | Fred Clark |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kelda Helen Roys (1979-06-24)June 24, 1979 (age 46) Marshfield, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Dan Reed |
| Children | 3 2 stepchildren |
| Education | New York University (BA) University of Wisconsin, Madison (JD) |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
Kelda Helen Roys (born June 24, 1979) is an American attorney, small business owner, andDemocratic politician fromMadison, Wisconsin. She is a member theWisconsin Senate, representingWisconsin's 26th Senate district since 2021. She previously served two terms in theWisconsin State Assembly, from 2009 to 2013. She is a current candidate in the Democratic Party primary for governor of Wisconsin in the2026 election.[1] She previously ran unsuccessfully in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, and in the 2012 congressional primary forWisconsin's 2nd congressional district.[2]
Kelda Roys was born on June 24, 1979, inMarshfield, Wisconsin.[3] During her early childhood she was raised in neighboringMedford and thenMadison, Wisconsin, starting in first grade.[4] Roys graduated fromMadison East High School in 1997.[5]
After graduating from high school, Roys began attendingNew York University in 1997. Initially, she majored in theater, but transferred to theGallatin 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 abachelor of arts from the university in 2000.[3] Roys then began attending theUniversity of Wisconsin Law School, graduating in 2004 with ajuris 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 inTurkey and theNetherlands.[4]
During law school, she worked at the WisconsinInnocence Project, as well as several national and international law firms. After law school, she worked for four years as the executive director ofNARAL 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]
In May 2007, fifteen-term Democratic state legislatorDavid 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 executiveKathleen 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 senatorJudy 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 containedBisphenol A.[15] The bill was passed by the state legislature on February 16, 2010, with the bill being signed into law by then-governorJim 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 the100th Wisconsin Legislature.[3]
Roys supported legislation including public breastfeeding protections and a successful statewide ban ofBisphenol A, or "BPA."[18] Roys also publicly fought against2011 Wisconsin Act 10, and had pledged to repeal the law if elected governor.[19]
In 2012, incumbent U.S. RepresentativeTammy Baldwin ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated byHerb Kohl.[20] Roys announced she would not seek re-election to the state assembly and instead would campaign to succeed Baldwin.[11] She faced fellow state legislatorMark 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.[21] During the campaign, Roys touted her endorsements, including fromEMILY's List, and accused Pocan of making backroom political deals and accepting corporate donations.[22] Roys' attacks against Pocan, though, drew criticism from other Democrats, including state legislatorFred Clark, who rescinded his endorsement of Roys, and state legislatorJanis Ringhand, who decided to endorse Pocan over the attacks.[23][22]
On election day, Roys was defeated in the primary by a larger-than-expected 51 point margin.[23]
On December 11, 2017, Roys formed an exploratory committee to run forgovernor of Wisconsin.[24]
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.[25] She gained national attention when a campaign ad in which she breastfeeds her infant daughter went viral.[26] The ad drew attention to legislation Roys had supported during her time in the state assembly to ban the use ofBisphenol A in baby bottles, which is used in various plastic products and can linings.[27]
Roys won first place by 12 points in theDemocratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention straw poll.[28] In July 2018, the Roys campaign announced that she had raised over $800,000.[29][30] In the primary election, Roys came in third out of the eight candidates, withTony Evers winning the nomination and going on to defeatScott Walker.[31]
In March 2020,Fred Risser, the longest-serving legislator in American history, announced he would retire from his seat in theWisconsin State Senate at the end of the current term.[32] Roys announced her candidacy to run for the open seat.[33] The race, in the heavily Democratic region ofDane County, Wisconsin, attracted six other candidates in a crowded Democratic primary, which was also defined by theCOVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin and theprotests against institutional racism prompted by themurder 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.[34][35]
In 2023, afterMelissa Agard stepped down as Senate Democratic Caucus leader, Roys announced a bid to succeed her, but was defeated byDianne Hesselbein.[36][37]
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.[38][39]
In February 2025, Roys, alongside state representativeBrienne Brown, proposed legislation to prevent landlords from engaging in price collusion.[40][41]
In April 2025, Roys, alongside state representativeLisa Subeck, proposed the "Abortion Rights Restoration Act," which would establish a right to abortion in Wisconsin Law.[42]
Roys is a member of theJoint Committee on Finance, which is in charge of the state budget.[43] She co-leads the legislature's Reproductive Freedom Workgroup[44] and is a member of the LGBTQ+ caucus.[45]
Throughout 2024 and into 2025, pundits in Wisconsin began speculating about whether governorTony Evers, who would be 79 at the end of a potential third term, would run again.[46] Evers formally announced on July 24, 2025, that he would not run for re-election in2026, with Roys expressing interest in running a month later.[47][48] Roys' decision, however, was delayed due to a fear of violence and personal attacks against herself and her family.[49] On September 15, 2025, Roys officially began a campaign for governor of Wisconsin, claiming that "extremists" like presidentDonald Trump and business ownerElon 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.[50]
Roys has a husband, three children, and two stepdaughters.[51]
Her mother was a social worker, her stepfather was an environmental lawyer, and her father was a prosecutor and law enforcement officer.[52]
She is asecular humanist and aUnitarian Universalist[53]
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Primary[54] | 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[55] | Nov. 4 | Kelda Helen Roys | Democratic | 23,984 | 98.89% | --Unopposed-- | 24,253 | 23,715 | ||||
| 2010 | General[56] | Nov. 2 | Kelda Helen Roys (inc) | Democratic | 18,698 | 98.90% | 18,906 | 18,490 | ||||
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Primary[57] | 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% | |||||||||
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Primary[58] | 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% | |||||||||
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Primary[59] | 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[60] | Nov. 3 | Kelda Helen Roys | Democratic | 102,569 | 98.16% | --Unopposed-- | 104,488 | 100,650 | ||||
| 2024 | General[61] | Nov. 5 | Kelda Helen Roys (inc) | Democratic | 94,495 | 98.41% | 96,021 | 92,969 | ||||
