Wisconsinites will vote for state Assembly and Senate candidates in a primary on Aug. 11 and in the general election Nov. 3, 2026.
This is the second election under more competitive district maps, but the first election for this particular Senate seat under the new maps.
One Republican and one Democrat are running for Senate District 33.
What do the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly do?
The Wisconsin Legislature is made up of 99 Assembly representatives and 33 senators from across Wisconsin. Together, they have the power to create, amend and repeal laws.
The Legislature plays a major role in deciding how to use taxpayer-funded state revenue every two years in the biennial budget. Whether more or less money is spent on education, economic development, tax relief — that is decided by the majority in the Legislature, along with Wisconsin's governor, who has to sign the budget, and other bills, into law.
What's at stake?
The Wisconsin Legislature has been firmly controlled by Republicans for more than a decade, under gerrymandered legislative maps.
Those maps were thrown out by the liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023, which prompted the Legislature to approve new maps proposed by Gov. Tony Evers.
In the Senate, Republicans currently have a 18-15 majority. According to JR Ross of WisPolitics.com, there are four seats at play — one currently held by a Democrat and three by Republicans. If Democrats win any three of those, they get a majority. They are districts 5 (Brookfield), 17 (Spring Green), 21 (Racine) and 31 (Eau Claire).
Republicans are likely to maintain their majority in the Assembly. Ross says Democrats would have to sweep almost all of the "swing" seats and hold on to a few they won by the skin of their teeth in 2024, to have a chance of gaining a majority in the Assembly.
Senate District 33
Wisconsin Senate District 33 includes Delafield, Hartford, Oconomowoc, Chenequa, Dousman, Eagle, Hartland, Lac La Belle, Merton, Neosho, North Prairie, Palmyra, Sussex, and Wales.
The current senator, Republican Chris Kapenga, is running for reelection.
WUWM sent a questionnaire to the candidates. Their responses below may be edited for length and clarity.
Meet the candidates
Chris Kapenga (Republican, incumbent)
Chris Kapenga did not respond to WUWM's candidate questions. The information below is from his campaign website.
According to Kapenga's website, he worked for a Fortune 50 company and owned and sold several businesses. Before that, he worked as a CPA. He has served in public office since 2010, first in the Wisconsin Assembly and then in the Senate. He was the president of the Senate from approximately 2020 until 2024.
Kapenga's website lists some top priorities:
- Eliminating the state income tax.
- Putting more Wisconsinites to work by reducing the number of people using welfare and "implementing a package of reforms that creates a temporary safety net through work hours up to the current benefit amount instead of simply sending a check."
- Embracing outside thinking and reinventing how state government functions so it's more efficient and effective.
- Reforming the state budget process using practices like performance metrics and zero-based budgeting.
- Modernizing state technology to provide better service at a lower cost.
Mike Van Someren (Democrat)
Current occupation: Attorney
Why are you running for this office?
I’m running to put the referee back on the field.
I don’t think government should run every part of our lives. But I do think it has a job: set fair rules, enforce them consistently, and hold powerful people accountable when they break them.
For too long, government has listened more to the largest corporations and special interests than to the people who live and work in our communities. The result is higher costs, less accountability, and families feeling like nobody is looking out for them.
I’m running because Wisconsin families should be able to pay their bills, handle an emergency, and build a good life here.
In WUWM's election survey, affordability is the top concern listed by voters. How would you work to address cost of living issues in Wisconsin?
Affordability is one of the biggest concerns I hear from families in this district. People are working hard, but too many still feel like they are one bill, one repair, or one emergency away from falling behind.
My plan is to attack affordability from both sides: raise wages and lower costs. That means holding everyone accountable to the same rules, investing in education, child care, health care access, infrastructure, and workforce development, and making sure public dollars are spent where they actually return value to Wisconsin families.
I don’t believe government should spend money just to spend it. But when we can make smart investments that help families pay their bills and build a good life here, we should.
A Marquette poll earlier this year found 70% of WI voters think the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide. How do you plan to address concerns about data centers?
Data centers can bring investment and jobs, but Wisconsin should not hand out blank checks and hope for the best. If a company wants to build here, it should pay its own way: infrastructure, energy demand, water use, transmission upgrades, and decommissioning costs should not get pushed onto taxpayers or ratepayers. I would require clear guardrails before any public support: real local job commitments, clawbacks if promises are not kept, protection for water and farmland, and transparency about energy needs and long-term costs. Growth can be good, but only if the deal is good for the people who already live here. Wisconsin should be open for business, not exploitation.
What are your top state budget priorities?
My top budget priority would be affordability: lowering property taxes responsibly while helping Wisconsin families pay their bills, handle an emergency, and build a good life here.
I would not pay for that by raising income taxes on working families. We should look at where money is already changing hands and make sure the tax code reflects today’s economy. That means reviewing transaction-based revenue, closing loopholes and exemptions that do not return public value, and making sure large projects and subsidized companies pay their own way.
We need smart investments in education, child care, health care, housing, roads, water, and workforce development, with transparency, measurable results, and clawbacks when promises are not kept.
How do you plan to remain accountable to the people of Wisconsin?
I plan to be accountable by showing up, explaining my work, and making it easy for people to know where I stand.
As a lawyer, one of the things I value about courts and the law is that you are expected to explain yourself. You do not just get to say, “because I said so.” You have to give reasons, deal with the facts, and answer for your position.
That is how I would approach public service: regular listening sessions across the district, clear explanations of my votes, and being available to people who disagree with me, not just people who already support me.
The job is not to be popular every day. The job is to listen, do the work, explain my decisions, and answer to the people who sent me there.
Please list any notable endorsements you've received.
Formal endorsements are still in progress. I've not yet announced any notable organizational or elected-official endorsements, but our campaign is actively building support from volunteers, neighbors, local leaders, and community members across the district. As endorsements become official, we will announce them publicly.
