Can Chris Kapenga Win Waukesha County While Snubbing GOP Insiders?
The Republican senator’s bid for county executive tests his anti-tax brand and party relationships.
Wisconsin Senate President Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, during a state Senate session on June 7, 2023, in the Wisconsin State Capitol.. Drake White-Bergey / Wisconsin Watch
Republican state Sen. Chris Kapenga of Delafield is running for the Waukesha County Executive seat left open after the passing of former executive and Wisconsin GOP leader Paul Farrow.
Kapenga, a staunch fiscal conservative who has clashed with Farrow and fellow Republican lawmakers, says he’ll keep an accountant’s eye on the growth of county government and “the slow creep of higher taxes.”
Kapenga made his first pitch on WISN-AM during conservative Dan O’Donnell’s talk show Monday afternoon, days after Waukesha County announced Farrow had died from a rare form of cancer at 61.
“Usually, you get excited about announcing,” said Kapenga. “But this is just unfortunate, and we’ve been praying for (Farrow’s wife) Amy and the kids.”
Kapenga and Farrow followed similar paths in politics. Both Republicans were elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2010 and served multiple terms. In 2012 they faced one another in a special election for the 33rd Senate District, which Farrow won. Farrow resigned his Senate seat in 2015 when he was elected as Waukesha County executive, where he served until his passing. Kapenga won the senate seat in the subsequent special election and has held it since then.
Kapenga told O’Donnell he’s seeking reelection to the Senate and campaigning for the county executive special election on Dec. 15, which is allowed under state law.
“So, everybody will vote for me in the Senate race in November, and then they will have the chance to vote for me in December for the county executive race, if God allows us to be successful there.” said Kapenga. “We will take office in most likely January for the county exec spot, and we would resign our senate seat on that day.”
O’Donnell noted fellow Republican state Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, and state Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, are thinking about running for the executive position. He also asked whether Kapenga feels any obligation to stay in the Senate when Democrats are trying to flip an already narrow GOP majority.
Kapenga said there’s no animosity between him and either GOP lawmaker, describing them as friends. Neither lawmaker responded to a request for comment from WPR.
As for the Senate seat, Kapenga said his office has analyzed the numbers.“It’s almost statistically impossible unless somebody really makes a major mistake in this seat to lose it to a Dem,” said Kapenga.
President Donald Trump won Kapenga’s senate district by a roughly 34 point margin in 2024, according to an analysis by Marquette University.
Waukesha County still leans Republican, but not by as much. Trump won the county by about a 10 percent margin in 2024. In April of this year, liberal Justice-elect Chris Taylor won a landslide victory statewide but lost Waukesha County by about eight points.
Some wonder if Kapenga’s quarrels with Republicans will hurt his chances
During his time at the state Capitol, Kapenga has been a member of Republicans’ self-proclaimed “CPA Caucus,” as one of a handful of certified public accountants working in the Legislature.
He hasn’t been shy about splitting with fellow Republicans on major legislation. In May, Kapenga was one of two Republican senators who voted against a bipartisan plan to spend state budget surplus money on tax rebates, tax cuts and additional school funding. The bill failed when no Democratic senators supported it either.
In 2024, Kapenga even split with Farrow as the Waukesha County Board was considering a local sales tax officials said would generate around $60 million a year. In a social media post during that debate, Kapenga accused local leaders of pushing a tax increase “making it even more difficult for people struggling to make ends meet.”
“If this passes, it tells me one thing,” said Kapenga. “The people we elected to work for us are now more beholden to the bureaucracy than to the residents they work for.”
When asked about that split by O’Donnell and how he’d work with the county board, Kapenga said his experience as an accountant and business owner gives him a unique perspective when it comes to finding an efficiencies and cost-saving cuts.
“So, I think that it will be helpful for the board to maybe have a little bit different perspective, just because of my background in fixing businesses and being a CPA, and just, numbers come naturally to me,” said Kapenga.
Some Wisconsin conservatives have questioned how Kapenga’s campaign for executive might be received in Waukesha County. Shortly after Kapenga announced his run, longtime conservative talk show host Jay Weber chimed in on social media.
“Chris Kapenga has rubbed all sorts of colleagues and GOP insiders the wrong way over the years,” said Weber. “Don’t expect him to get a hero’s welcome into the race or a lot of support from the party’s leaders as he runs.”
Former Republican State Rep. Adam Jarchow, who served one term in the Assembly before losing campaigns for state senate and attorney general, responded in Kapenga’s defense. He said Kapenga “rubs people the wrong way because he refuses to play the insider game.”
State Sen. Chris Kapenga running for Waukesha County executive was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
