Former Lt. Gov. Kleefisch quits woman’s suffrage job

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch has quit a job leading national recognition of the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote to return to Wisconsin 10 months after she began.

The Republican Kleefisch is widely expected to run for governor in 2022. She served eight years as lieutenant governor under Gov. Scott Walker.

In January, she began working as executive director of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission in Washington, D.C. That group was planning activities to mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in 2020.

Kleefisch said Thursday in a statement announcing her resignation that she wanted to be closer to her home and family in Wisconsin.

The 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote was ratified on June 4, 1919, and was added to the Constitution on Aug. 26, 1920.