East Troy man announces primary challenge to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos

MADISON – East Troy resident Andrew Cegielski this week announced he will challenge Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in a primary in a new district represented by the state Legislature's top Republican.

Cegielski, a Republican, will face Vos in August's partisan primary in the new 33rd Assembly District, which was drawn following the Dec. 22 Wisconsin Supreme Court verdict that struck down old maps as unconstitutional.

His announcement comes ahead of the Monday deadline to file nomination papers with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. He must submit at least 200 valid signatures from electors in the 33rd district to appear on the ballot.

In a Thursday press release, Cegielski said he aims to abolish the state income tax and end school referendums that raise property taxes. He pledged to vote against any state budget that spends more than $100 billion. The most recent state budget spent around $99 billion.

“Regular people’s interests are no longer being represented in the Wisconsin Legislature. And that is why I’m the perfect candidate to replace a career politician like Robin," said Cegielski. "I’m a regular guy with a regular job who just wants what’s best for myself and my family."

In a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Vos said he is "a conservative fighter and I always will be."

"As the speaker I have proudly blocked every liberal policy the Evers administration has ever proposed and I look forward to making the case to the voters that with two years left of his term, I am the wall that is needed in Madison to keep us from becoming Illinois, Michigan or Minnesota," he said.

Court records show Cegielski was charged with three drunken driving offenses between 2007 and 2013, the last of which was for driving intoxicated at nearly three times the legal limit. He also received misdemeanor charges for disorderly conduct in 2015 and 2016.

Cegielski previously ran for a District 19 supervisor seat on the Waukesha County Board in April, which he lost to Darryl Enriquez by a 65% margin.

In 2022, Vos easily defeated primary challenger Adam Steen’s ??Trump-backed write-in campaign with 73% of the vote.

Vos faced a second attempt at a recall on Tuesday when a group of election conspiracy theorists and supporters of Donald Trump submitted a new batch of petitions that they say contain enough signatures to trigger a recall election after their first attempt failed. Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who helped lead the recall, said Tuesday he didn’t know who would run if it comes to an election.

Cegielski told the Journal Sentinel he thinks Vos' reaction to the recall "has been overblown."

"I think recalls are a last resort, but I approve of the people's right to initiate them and hold politicians accountable," Cegielski said. "I do not believe any of the claims of fraud."

Cegielski in his announcement statement said “people know that Robin’s failed policies and bad ideas as Speaker of the Assembly have damaged the Republican brand and made it almost impossible to win statewide races."

Vos has represented Wisconsin’s 63rd Assembly District since 2005, making him the Assembly’s longest-serving speaker. The latest Marquette Law School polls on Vos show his popularity remaining low, with 17% favorability in April and February.

Rachel Hale can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: East Troy man plans challenge against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.