Chris Kapenga

I enjoyed meeting with district residents in Hartford this week. These events are a great reminder that people can have different political views and still engage in civil discussion. Topics included eliminating the state income tax, stewardship funding for land conservation, protecting ratepayers from increased utility costs associated with data centers, the governor vetoing bills that would keep men out of women's locker rooms and sports, the death penalty as a deterrent in cases of horrific child sexual abuse, and the importance or running for office when you lose trust in elected officials. Join us at our next session and participate in the political process!

64% of Wisconsin voters oppose legalizing online sports betting in our state, according to last week's new Marquette poll. The opposition is bi-partisan. Makes you wonder why the Assembly would push this through. I'm a "no" vote if this comes to the Senate floor…blackchronicle.com/midwest/wiscon…

My new legislation would empower prosecutors in Wisconsin to seek the death penalty for convicted child sex predators. “Those who target the youngest among us for the vilest crimes will soon be met with the harshest punishment under the law.” mailchi.mp/legis/2-23-26-…

In the Wisconsin State Senate, it’s hard to find a more conservative guy than @chriskapenga. 97% lifetime score on the @TPAction legislative scorecard. 100% for this session. Look up your YOUR legislators here: tpaction.com/scorecard

More than $2.20 billion in utility rate increases on Wisconsin ratepayers have been approved by Governor Evers' Public Service Commissioners since gaining a majority on the Public Service Commission (about 7x the amount approved under Governor Walker). Even worse, these Commissioners then get hired into high-paying positions with the same utility companies they were charged with regulating, while ratepayers are left struggling to pay ever-rising energy bills. Details on my bill to stop this influence peddling and slow the rise in utility costs…mailchi.mp/legis/2-06-26-…

Like most of you, I was shocked at the last utility bill I opened. Yes, it has been cold, but it's the highest utility bill I've ever had, and it's because rates are rising. Thankfully, it could have been even worse if we had allowed ROFR legislation to pass. mailchi.mp/legis/1-30-26-…

The scale of welfare fraud in Minnesota is staggering, and that's just one mid-sized state. While the Trump administration continues to root out waste in federal programs and Republican led states are adding additional reforms to protect taxpayers, it's going to take more conservatives in elected office, citizen journalists, and whistleblower government employees to slow the bleeding. That's because bigger government programs are among the least efficient ways to truly help people. Trusting bureaucrats like Tim Walz and Tony Evers to effectively take your money, decide who needs it more than you do, and then redistribute it correctly is like trusting lottery tickets as your retirement plan. The safest place for your money is with you, and allowing people to keep as much of their take-home pay as possible is one of the best ways to help people achieve financial security.

Good to be with the Jefferson County GOP Caucus today, which endorsed my campaign and the campaigns of my colleagues in the State Senate and State Assembly.

Last week, the State Senate approved bills to remove state taxes from tips, require any local wheel tax to first be approved by voters, and create a constitutional amendment prohibiting the Governor from using their partial veto power to increase a fee or tax. More below on Republicans’ continued efforts to lower the cost of living for Wisconsin residents mailchi.mp/legis/1-23-26-…

"What has happened to public media is devastating." Totally agree, and it's why I've complained about this for years. Fantastic move to shut down funding for pro-Democrat, anti-Republican media outlets like NPR and PBS, which have spent decades ripping off taxpayers by pretending to represent independent thinking. Organizations that take intentional steps to move away from ethical independent reporting need to be held accountable.

Thanks to Republican leadership, recipients of food stamp handouts who can work will find it much harder to cheat the system in 2026. Unfortunately, Gov. Evers is OK with giving your money away by not enforcing FoodShare work requirements, which, by the way, also hurts those in poverty by keeping them trapped in it. And instead of using nearly 7,000 existing state employees in the Department of Health Services to vet eligibility, he wants us to give him millions more of your money to fatten the state’s payroll, with zero data to justify it (must be taking finance mgmt. lessons from Tim Walz next door in MN). More details in my interview with Badger Institute: badgerinstitute.org/legislature-ba…

Let's hope the federal government steps in where state officials won't and ends vehicle emissions testing in SE WI. It's a tax on lower-income people with no evidence of any public benefit. mailchi.mp/legis/12-19-25…

Bills are in the works to reverse Governor Evers' property tax increases, eliminate more DEI and woke ideology from the state, and protect school districts from losing funding to MPS. mailchi.mp/legis/12-12-25…

This SNAP issue is about solving a problem. The goal for people who are struggling financially is to see them move back to self-sufficiency and purpose, not to trap them in misery. And let's be honest, no one enjoys being on welfare. Republicans, and the vast majority of the public, realize that the only way out of poverty is work, so the sooner people work, the sooner they can get out from under the stress of poverty. A food handout doesn't bring purpose or solution, it just gets someone to the next day of poverty without purpose. The related cost (this is not a free program, and it's full of fraud) also pulls down those who are trying to work and stay out of poverty by reducing their take-home pay, so it's a double wammy. So which party's solution to this issue is best for people?

This is a BRILLIANT move by the feds, forcing states to pay admin costs of food stamp handouts if they don't enforce eligibility laws. We all know this program is filled with fraud. It's lowering your take-home pay and jeopardizing the program for those who actually need it. Time for Governor Evers to start following the law and require able-bodied people to work.

How the Government Can Help With Affordability 💸 Lately, I've heard a lot from both parties about "affordability." It's the new flash word being used in politics, but most of us understand it well because we've been struggling with it for years now. Skyrocketing prices on everything from food to housing to healthcare have plagued everyone without bias. Interestingly, the private sector has also been talking about it recently. I read three very good articles in The Wall Street Journal on the reality of what's causing this: too much government. It's something I have brought up previously as a driving factor in negatively impacting your life, and these articles confirm what I have been preaching. Yet the alarming part of this issue is that some still think that more government intervention will help. They want government to invade your life even more. But Economist John Cochrane puts it best when he points out, "Every dollar of 'relief' for one party is a dollar of 'burden' for another, plus the inefficiency (extra cost with no benefit) of redistribution." The most important fix those of us in elected public service can do is get government out of the redistribution game. This is not a new concept, with even Benjamin Franklin pointing out that in all of his study of human history, the more poverty programs that are created, the more poverty exists. So next time you hear someone complain about our high cost of living, and then say government should step in and "help" by creating or expanding another program, make sure you point out the reality that the last thing we need or want is less "affordability" through more government.

Providing More Religious Freedom ⛪️ It's crazy to believe this actually happened, but back during the COVID-19 shutdowns, Governor Evers and other liberal government officials took away religious freedoms by targeting people of faith and prohibiting religious gatherings—to the point of sending local law enforcement into churches to shut down services. This was a massive infringement on our First Amendment rights and the right of every Wisconsinite to worship as they please. Last week, the Senate Committee I chair on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, and State and Federal Affairs heard public testimony on a proposed amendment to our State Constitution. Senate Joint Resolution 4 makes it clear that a place of worship in Wisconsin may not be forcibly closed during a national, state, or local declared emergency. If passed in the Senate and Assembly, this proposed constitutional amendment would then go on the ballot for the people to decide.

Following the news story on hundreds of teacher sexual misconduct and grooming cases shielded from the public, our Joint Legislative Audit Committee met last week with representatives of the Department of Public Instruction. Here's what's next: mailchi.mp/legis/11-07-25…

This week I testified in Senate committee on my legislation to repeal 400 years of automatic property tax increases enacted by Governor Evers. There's only one source of government funding, and that's taxing residents. Our Governor should not be allowed to override the citizens' voice through the Legislature and unilaterally authorize tax increases. The unchecked power of Wisconsin's partial veto is dangerous to both parties and puts our Republic at risk!

Ballooning state budgets in Wisconsin are unsustainable, and it's irresponsible to assume all prior spending is good spending without measuring program effectiveness. I've authored a bill to reform our budget process by adopting a zero-based budgeting approach. mailchi.mp/legis/10-24-25…