Josh Kaul

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Josh Kaul

| image = Josh Kaul-13 - 44610449305 (3x4b).jpg

| caption = Kaul in 2018

| office = 45th Attorney General of Wisconsin

| governor = Tony Evers

| term_start = January 7, 2019

| term_end =

| predecessor = Brad Schimel

| successor =

| birth_name = Joshua Lautenschlager Kaul

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|2|2}}

| birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Democratic

| relatives = Peg Lautenschlager (mother)

| education = Yale University (BA)
Stanford University (JD)

|website = {{URL|https://www.doj.state.wi.us/exec-profile/josh-kaul|Government website}}

}}

Joshua Lautenschlager Kaul (born February 2, 1981) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as the 45th Attorney General of Wisconsin since January 2019.

Early life and education

Kaul is the son of Peg Lautenschlager, an attorney and politician, and Indian immigrant Raj Kaul. His stepfather, Bill Rippl, worked as a police officer. He was raised in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac.{{cite web|author=Zientara, Bob |url=https://www.news-shield.com/news/free_news/article_5fe471f8-4888-11e8-8a2f-13aed7711fbb.html |title=Attorney General candidate has family ties to Barron | Free News |publisher=news-shield.com |date=April 25, 2018 |access-date=October 21, 2018}} Kaul graduated from Yale University as a double major in history and economics. He earned his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. While a student at Stanford, he served as president of the Stanford Law Review.

Career

Kaul clerked for Michael Boudin in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.{{cite web|url=https://www.wiscnews.com/bdc/news/local/govt-and-politics/candidate-q-a-attorney-general/article_f72abaef-ef62-509f-9734-9a00ec0d8ade.html |title=Candidate Q&A: Attorney general | Government & Politics |date=October 21, 2018 |publisher=wiscnews.com |access-date=October 21, 2018}} From 2007 through 2010, he worked for the law firm Jenner & Block, and worked as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's office in Baltimore through 2014.{{cite web|url=https://www.wiscnews.com/news/state-and-regional/in-attorney-general-contest-brad-schimel-and-josh-kaul-draw/article_675fc2be-383f-5c52-8d3f-95f9a5b02f5f.html |title=In attorney general contest, Brad Schimel and Josh Kaul draw sharp contrasts | State-and-regional |date=October 21, 2018 |publisher=wiscnews.com |access-date=October 21, 2018}}

In 2014, Kaul moved back to Wisconsin and joined the law firm Perkins Coie's Madison office.{{cite web|url=https://madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/election-matters/wedge-issues-josh-kaul-talks-public-service-family-spreadable-cheese/article_58842c2a-18ce-52a6-9592-acd5bac9ecb0.html |title=Wedge Issues: Josh Kaul talks public service, family, spreadable cheese | Politics and Elections |publisher=madison.com |date=September 14, 2018 |access-date=October 21, 2018}}

= Attorney General of Wisconsin =

In the 2018 elections, Kaul ran for Attorney General of Wisconsin defeating incumbent Republican Brad Schimel. Kaul won by a small margin of just over 17,000 votes, but Schimel decided not to seek a recount and conceded defeat on November 19. Kaul became the state's first Democratic Attorney General since his mother's term in office.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbc15.com/content/news/WI-Attorney-General-Race-neck-and-neck-499909971.html|title=WI Attorney General race neck and neck|first=Morgan|last=Wolfe|website=www.nbc15.com|date=November 7, 2018}}[https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2018-11-19/republican-attorney-general-schimel-concedes-to-josh-kaul Republican Attorney General Schimel Concedes to Josh Kaul]. US News. 2018-11-19

File:Tony Evers, Tammy Baldwin, Josh Kaul IMG 2501 (1).jpg and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin at a 2022 campaign event]]

Kaul was reelected in 2022, defeating Republican Eric Toney.{{cite web | url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/09/josh-kaul-defeats-eric-toney-in-wisconsin-attorney-general-race/69597078007/ | title=Josh Kaul defeats Eric Toney to win second term as Wisconsin attorney general in 2022 midterm election }}

On June 4, 2024, Kaul announced he was bringing felony forgery charges against three operatives of Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign who were involved in the plot to produce fraudulent electoral college votes from Wisconsin. Those charged included Kenneth Chesebro, a Wisconsin native and the alleged architect of the national fraudulent elector plot, Jim Troupis, a former Wisconsin circuit court judge who represented Trump in 2020 litigation, and Mike Roman, a Trump campaign aide and former White House staffer.{{cite news|url= https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/06/04/wisconsin-kaul-charges-former-trump-associates-in-fake-elector-scheme/73969528007/ |title= Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul charges former Trump associates in fake elector scheme |first= Molly |last= Beck |newspaper= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date= June 4, 2024 |accessdate= June 4, 2024 }}

Personal life

Kaul met his wife, Lindsey, at Yale. They have two sons.{{Cite web|url=https://www.joshkaul.org/meet-josh/|title=Meet Josh – Josh Kaul for Attorney General|website=Josh Kaul|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-21}}

Electoral history

{{Election box begin | title=Wisconsin Attorney General Election 2018https://elections.wi.gov/sites/default/files/Canvass%20Results%20%282%29.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link||party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Josh Kaul|votes=1,305,902|percentage=49.41|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Brad Schimel (incumbent)|votes=1,288,712|percentage=48.76|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Constitution Party (United States)|candidate=Terry Larson|votes=47,038|percentage=1.78|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link||party=n/a|candidate=Write-ins|votes=1,199|percentage=0.05|change=}}

{{Election box begin

| title = Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2022}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Josh Kaul (incumbent)

| votes = 1,333,369

| percentage = 50.64

| change = +1.23

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link