As Republicans privately look ahead to 2020, Chris Kapenga acknowledges considering run for governor

MADISON - Less than a year into Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' first term, the Republican field to challenge him is already shaping up.  

State Sen. Chris Kapenga is the latest Republican to openly consider running for governor in 2022, joining former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Delafield businessman Kevin Nicholson as potential contenders.

"There's nothing getting done and it's a little bit frustrating," Kapenga said in an interview about the idea of running against Evers in 2022. "Obviously the Legislature and the governor, when you're in different parties, there's not as much that can be done ... but I don't see him jumping in and trying to govern it better."

Kapenga, of Delafield, said Monday while he hasn't yet made up his mind, he's seriously considering the idea of seeking the state's top office. The idea comes just a few weeks after he decided against a bid for Congress, which would have put him in a primary fight against his own Senate leader. 

He also said he is considering seeking the state Senate's top post if Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald ultimately wins his congressional bid in 2020. 

A spokesman for Evers declined to comment, but Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokeswoman Courtney Beyer said Kapenga "is talking a big talk for someone who couldn't even rally enough support in his backyard to run for Congress."

"Sen. Kapenga can daydream as much as he wants about being governor, but there's no reason to expect he'll do anything besides get pushed aside by his own party in 2022 and go right back to using his office to promote special interests and benefit his Tesla hobby," Beyer said. 

During the most-recent state budget cycle, Republicans writing the two-year spending plan included language intended to capture a Yes vote from Kapenga on the budget, but was later vetoed by Evers.

The language would have allowed electric car manufacturers like Tesla to sell directly to consumers rather than go through dealers like other car manufacturers. Kapenga sells Tesla parts and rebuilds the electric cars.

Evers narrowly defeated two-term incumbent Gov. Scott Walker in 2018. Before he was sworn in as governor, Republican lawmakers drafted legislation to curb Evers' power and ever since legislative leaders and the governor have been at loggerheads.

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Kapenga said he believes he would see a different electoral outcome than Walker did because he sees himself as "a little bit of a different candidate."

"The business background is a big deal and we haven’t seen a successful businessman in the governor's mansion in a while," he said.

He said he would focus on measures that require people receiving public benefits to work and become less dependent on publicly funded programs, like food stamps — similar to measures that Walker and Republican lawmakers implemented in recent years over criticism from Democrats and advocates who represent food banks.

Kapenga, 47, was first elected to the Assembly in 2010 and elected to the Senate in 2015. 

He belongs to a bloc of conservative members within the Senate Republican caucus that has become influential in recent years during state budget cycles, most notably in 2017. 

The budget was delayed for nearly three months because Walker and his fellow Republicans who control the Legislature could not agree on taxes and transportation funding. When they, at last, reached a deal that passed the Assembly, three conservative GOP senators — Sen. Duey Stroebel of Saukville, Sen. Steve Nass of Whitewater and Kapenga — said they intended to vote against it unless changes were made. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester refused to make more changes in the Assembly, so the holdout senators turned to Walker, whose powerful veto pen offered them another potential solution, essentially negotiating to give their Yes votes in exchange for the governor's vetoes.

The budget would not have made it to Walker's desk without those votes because a fourth conservative senator, David Craig of Big Bend, had decided already to vote against it. 

Vos characterized the episode as Walker negotiating with terrorists, a comment he later apologized for making. 

Of the other potential Republican contenders, Kapenga has given the strongest public indication of his plans. 

Rebecca Kleefisch. The former lieutenant governor also is strongly considering a run for governor in 2022 and not considering other offices, like U.S. Senate, according to people familiar with her thinking.

Paul Farrow. The Waukesha County executive emphasized in August that he is focused on helping conservatives in races in 2020 but said running for governor in 2022 was “intriguing” and an “interesting opportunity.” Farrow was a state senator before becoming county executive.

Kevin Nicholson. Nicholson, a businessman and Marine veteran, lost last year’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate to Leah Vukmir. Like Farrow, he said his attention is on 2020 races for now but is considering running in 2022.

Ron Johnson. Johnson, a U.S. Senator, is still leaving open the possibility of running for governor in 2022 but also is considering running for another term in Congress or retiring altogether. 

Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.