Wisconsin Public Radio

Fitzgerald Will Run for Congress

Senate Majority Leader to run for Sensenbrenner’s 5th Congressional district seat.

By , Wisconsin Public Radio - Sep 17th, 2019 12:37 pm
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, is seen after Gov. Tony Evers' first State of the State address in Madison, Wisconsin, at the state Capitol building on Jan. 22, 2019. Emily Hamer/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, is seen after Gov. Tony Evers’ first State of the State address in Madison, Wisconsin, at the state Capitol building on Jan. 22, 2019. Emily Hamer/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

Wisconsin state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald announced Tuesday he will run for a seat in Congress.

Fitzgerald, a longtime fixture in state government, is the first Republican candidate to officially join the race for the seat being vacated by longtime Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner. He made the announcement on WISN radio’s “The Jay Weber Show.”

“Washington is a mess. For too long, liberals and the elite have ignored the needs of working-class people,” Fitzgerald said Tuesday in a prepared statement. “President Trump has made tremendous strides in fixing the D.C. dysfunction, but he needs more help.”

Fitzgerald has served in the state Senate since 1994. His current tenure as majority leader began in 2011, when he served as a key figure in the passage of high-profile pieces of former Gov. Scott Walker‘s policy agenda, including the changes to Wisconsin unions known as Act 10.

Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District is seen as a conservative bastion in the state.

A number of other Republican candidates are still mulling bids, including: former U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson; state Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield; state Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee; GOP aide Ben Voelkel; Matt Walker, son of former Gov. Walker; and Matt Neumann, son of former Wisconsin Congressman Mark Neumann.

Former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir said last week she will not run for the seat. She was considered one of the highest profile Republicans considering a bid.

At least one Democrat, Tom Palzewicz, has also announced he would run for the open seat. Palzewicz lost to Sensenbrenner in the 2018 election.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald Announces Congressional Bid was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

One thought on “Fitzgerald Will Run for Congress”

  1. Thomas Martinsen says:

    Fitzgerald has done much damage in our state: carrying water for Walker the destroyer. He could do worse to our nation if he were elected to carry water for Trump the destroyer.

    Voters, please keep this water bearer for bad actors out of national office.

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