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"There is a subtle, but very persistent attack being waged today in our society," she said in her announcement. "This attack sticks right at the root — at the family."
Strengthening the family, protecting the institution of marriage, supporting affordable quality healthcare, building the economies of rural communities and preserving family farms are essential to the common good and especially the good of the people of southwestern Wisconsin, Schmirler said.
Richland County Republican Party Chairman Todd Allbaugh and two Democrats, Miguel Morga of Gays Mills, a North Crawford School Board member, and Gail Frei, a Viroqua City Council member, have already announced their candidacies.
Schmirler, 38, is a licensed nurse at Norseland Nursing Home in Westby and a child-care provider. She is a 1985 graduate of Mid-State Technical College in Stevens Point and has worked for almost 20 years as a licensed nurse.
She is a graduate of the Lay Formation Institute of the Catholic Diocese of La Crosse, an active member and past secretary of the Sacred Heart Home and School Association.
She and her husband Sam and daughter Lucinda have lived in rural Vernon County since 1995.
Schmirler said she supports a constitutional amendment protecting the institution of marriage. The redefinition of marriage to allow homosexual marriage is an attack on the whole family, especially the children, she said.
"Wisconsin voters deserve the right to express themselves on this issue," she said. "The best way to do this is through a vote on a constitutional amendment protecting marriage. The Legislature needs to make this possible next session."
