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Spending is Completely out of Control
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann has made it clear that he’s running for governor no matter who else is in the race. But he says he’s happy now that Gov. Evers is out of the running.
“I saw a great contrast between Tony Evers and I. Not just visually, but also the track record of my time as county executive and his as governor,” Schoemann told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber. “But let's be honest, the list of candidates formulated on their side is going to be more extreme.”
Schoemann has spent this early part of the 2026 campaign for governor touting his fiscal management of Washington County government, where he’s been the county exec since 2020.
“We have constrained the size of government [in Washington County], reduced it in every metric you can think of, because it's your money. It's the people's money. It's not government’s money,” Schoemann added. “I believe [spending] is completely out of control, we need to right-size government.”
Schoemann said it took 12 years for Washington County to see a 12% increase in spending. He said Gov. Evers signed a new budget that increases spending by 12% over the next two years.
“You’ve heard the candidates on the Left already start to say that Gov. Evers didn't go far enough with the budget that he proposed,” Schoemann said. “I think that just shows that contrast.”
Schoemann was the first Republican to jump into next year’s race for governor, but the field has grown since.
Republican businessman Bill Berrien has also launched a campaign, and since Gov. Evers’ retirement announcement Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley have jumped in on the Democratic side.
But it will be a long time before voters get their say. Next year’s primary isn’t until August.
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