We’ve been given the first look at Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann’s moving announcement video for Wisconsin governor.
Schoemann, 43, who is running as a Republican, is holding an event on Sunday, May 4, 2025, to officially announce his campaign against Democrat Gov. Tony Evers.
“I’m Josh Schoemann, and I’m running for governor,” he confirms in the video, which sketches out his bio and strikes a theme of commonality and unity through being neighbors. The tone stands in stark contrast to the very partisan rhetoric and stances lately of Evers, and Schoemann also emphasizes his deep Wisconsin roots.
Here’s Schoemann’s video (transcript in full at the end of this article):
According to the National Association of Counties, Schoemann is a “seventh generation resident of Washington County, was born in Hartford.” He is the son of a Lutheran minister and a nurse and served in Kuwait with the Army National Guard.
“He has shrunk county government in every metric: lowest tax rate since before WWI, lower tax levy than a decade ago, less county-owned land, fewer government employees, and significantly less debt,” the National Association of Counties wrote. “Through priority-based budgeting, Josh cut excess programs and has reallocated nearly 15% of the budget. Josh and his team have a fully funded road construction plan until 2050 – without raising taxes.”
“Josh Schoemann was elected County Executive of Washington County in April of 2020, after serving over six years as County Administrator and Administrative Coordinator (County Manager). He was elected to his second term in April of 2024. He also is a board member and past President of the Wisconsin County Executives & Administrators Association.”
“In 2003, he served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, earning an Army Commendation Medal during his tour, and received an honorable discharge in October 2008 from the Army National Guard. He is a member of the VFW Post 10452, the American Legion Post 483 – Allenton, WI, the West Bend Noon Rotary, sits on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County Board of Directors , and is an active member of Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford. He currently lives in the Town of Trenton on an 80-acre farm with his wife Jodi and their sons, Cael and Drake, and their dogs Liberty and Sconnie.”
Here’s the transcript:
Growing up the son of a Lutheran minister, you move around a lot. I remember sitting on the balcony as a young kid listening to my father preaching about the importance of loving your neighbor more than yourself.
When you move as much as we did, that becomes really important. Those neighbors. They become your lifeline, your community. That’s what I love about Wisconsin. It’s the people. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, how you talk, or what you believe. We treat everyone like a neighbor.
When I was 12, I got my first job at Gib’s on the Lake in Kewaunee, where I learned to move fast and think on my feet. In the summers, I worked on our neighbors’ farms, milking cows, working sheep, and picking stones
That’s when I first understood the meaning of hard work. After that, I worked as a janitor in local schools in the summertime. To bring home a paycheck, help my family, and save money for college. Shortly after meeting my future wife, Jodi, I joined the Army National Guard.
Three years later, I would be reminded of my father’s lessons to love your neighbor. Just minutes after our battalion touched down in Kuwait, the sirens went off. We rushed to the bomb shelters as the world seemed to be exploding above our heads.
We huddled together and prayed. We hardly knew each other. We were from different places, backgrounds, and faiths, but in those moments, it didn’t matter. We were family. We were all neighbors.
During that deployment, I wrote Philippians 4 verse 13 on my Kevlar. [“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”]
To remind myself that even when times are darkest, we are never truly alone. Today, I rely on all of those lessons. From my father’s sermon, the kitchens at Gib’s, the fields of our neighbors’ farms, the school work, the long months in Kuwait. All to lead our community here in Washington County by focusing on the people, common sense, hard work, and relentless commitment to service.
We reduced government spending. Shrunk the bureaucracy. Slashed red tape and returned millions of taxpayer dollars to the people, all while investing in home ownership for young families, supporting small businesses, and building infrastructure that everyone can rely on. We need more of that vision, strength, and leadership in Madison.
Our state needs leaders who are willing to roll up their sleeves, bring people together, and do the hard work of building a brighter future for Wisconsin.
I am tired of watching generations of our young people and our retirees flee this state for greener pastures. I’ll fight to make Wisconsin the best state in the nation to live, work, raise a family, be retired, and start a business, so our state becomes a great place to be, not just be from.
I can’t promise you that we will always agree, but I can promise you no one will outwork me to serve you. You deserve nothing less because, after all, we’re neighbors.
