(The Center Square) – The first official candidate in Wisconsin’s 2026’s race for governor says his plan is simple – keep young people in the state and stop retirees from moving out.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann officially announced his plans to run for governor over the weekend. On Monday, he spoke with News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber about what he plans to run on.
“I know a lot of folks that have left this state,” Schoemann explained. “They live in Florida or Arizona, some of them for six months and one day, just so they don’t have to live in the tax-hell that is Wisconsin under Tony Evers. And there’s plenty of kids who are graduating high school, graduating college or leaving and they’re never coming back.”
Schoemann said that means tax reform must be a part of his campaign.
“We have fundamental change. I think we start this conversation with the income tax,” Schoemann added. “To me it’s absolutely embarrassing that our income tax is not even lower than Illinois, who’s got a flat rate. I believe we got to flatten it, on a trajectory to eliminating it, eventually.”
Schoemann didn’t get into the specifics of how much that would cost or what other taxes would need to be raised to offset any losses.
He also said say smaller government is a must.
Schoemann said better leadership is a must as well and turned his criticism toward Evers.
“Whether it’s boys and girls sports, or the inseminated person commentary…I mean the list is long of all the embarrassing things that are going on in this administration,” Schoeman said. “And that’s not even getting into what a terrible leader the guy is.”
Evers has not said whether he plans to run in 2026. If he does, it would be his third run for governor.
The governor also didn’t comment on Schoemann’s entrance into the race, but the Democratic Governors Association did.
“Josh Schoemann’s entrance into Wisconsin’s race for governor guarantees that the GOP primary will be defined by extreme positions and unpopular proposals that will drag Wisconsin backwards,” the DGA said. “While Gov. Tony Evers has worked across party lines to do the right thing for Wisconsin, Schoemann brings to this race a toxic record of attacking public schools, opposing reproductive freedom, and championing Elon Musk’s attacks on the programs and services Wisconsinites rely on.”
