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Susan Shannon Engeleiter (born March 18, 1952) is a member of the Republican Party who served as a Wisconsin State Senator from 1980 to 1989. She served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1974 to 1979. Engeleiter's districts consisted of most of Waukesha County, which included her home town of Brookfield. She is married and has two children.

Engeleiter was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1974, and received her juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin law school in 1981.

When she was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1974, Engleiter was, at age 22, the youngest woman ever elected to the Wisconsin Legislature. She served in the Assembly until January 1979, having decided against running for re-election in 1978 and instead seeking the open congressional seat being vacated by then-U.S. Rep. Bob Kasten to run for governor. Engeleiter lost the primary to then-State Senator Jim Sensenbrenner by 589 votes. ^[1]

However, Engeleiter made a comeback of sorts when she was elected in a special election to the Wisconsin State Senate in April of 1980. In the Wisconsin State Senate, Engeleiter served as Assistant Minority Leader from 1982 - 1984, and as Minority Leader from 1984 - 1989.

Engeleiter ran an aggressive campaign for the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by William Proxmire in 1988.

In the primary election, she defeated State GOP Chairman Steve King in a close race. King had labeled Engeleiter a moderate while touting his conservative credentials. Engeleiter's victory allowed her to face Democrat Herb Kohl, former chairman of the state Democratic Party, in the November general election.

Engeleiter drew attention for a campaign rally during which, while referring to Kohl, she waved a fruitcake, considered by many to have been a reference to Kohl's sexuality.

On November 2, 1988, as polls showed Engeleiter and Kohl running neck-to-neck, President Ronald Reagan visited Milwaukee to headline a campaign rally and fundraiser for Engeleiter. [1] However, Engeleiter narrowly lost the race to Kohl by a 52-48 margin.

After her defeat in the Senate race, newly-elected President George H.W. Bush nominated her in January 1989 to be the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and served in that position until 1991.

After leaving the SBA, Engeleiter moved to the western Wisconsin town of Somerset take up a position at Honeywell and later to become President and CEO of Data Recognition Corporation (DRC)[2], both in Minnesota.

• 1988 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Herb Kohl (D), 52%
  • Susan Engeleiter (R), 48%
• 1988 Race for U.S. Senate - Republican Primary
  • Susan Engeleiter (R)
  • Steve King (R)

Preceded by James Abdnor	Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration 1989 - 1991	Succeeded by Pat Saiki
Preceded by Roger P. Murphy	Wisconsin State Senator - 33rd District 1980 - 1989	Succeeded by Margaret Farrow