Devin LeMahieu

Devin LeMahieu was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and has lived most of his life in the Sheboygan area. He graduated from Sheboygan County Christian High School in 1991, and went on to attend Dordt College, in Sioux Center, Iowa; he earned his bachelor's degree in 1995 with a double major in business administration and political science.^[1]

After college, LeMahieu began working for the Lakeshore Weekly advertiser, which his father owned. He later took over ownership of the paper.^[1]

LeMahieu was involved in politics from an early age because of his father's active role in the local Republican Party.^[2] In 2006, he made his first bid for public office, running for an open seat on the Sheboygan County board of supervisors. He won the election without opposition^[3] and went on to serve on the board for the next nine years.^[1]

LeMahieu made his first run for the Wisconsin Legislature in 2012, when he launched a primary challenge against Republican incumbent Mike Endsley in the 26th Assembly district. In announcing his run, LeMahieu stated that his campaign wasn't intended as opposition to any particular policy or vote from Endsley, but was merely an acknowledgement that the district had been significantly reshaped by the 2011 redistricting act—the 26th district had previous been concentrated in the city of Sheboygan and the neighboring village of Kohler; the redistricting split Sheboygan between the 26th and 27th districts to gerrymander the Democratic residents of Sheboygan out of any chance at Democratic legislative representation, and the 26th district took on vast portions of southern Sheboygan County, including LeMahieu's home in Oostburg.^[4][5] LeMahieu ultimately fell short in the primary, receiving 40% of the vote.^[6]

Two years after his loss in the Assembly primary, LeMahieu seized another opportunity to run for state office when incumbent state senator Joe Leibham announced he would run for U.S. House of Representatives rather than seeking another term representing Wisconsin's 9th Senate district.^[7] This time, LeMahieu faced no opponent in the primary and went on to the general election against Democratic candidate Martha Laning. The 9th Senate district then comprised most of Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties and part of Calumet County, and was a safely Republican seat; LeMahieu prevailed with 60% of the vote.^[8] He took office at the start of the 101st Wisconsin Legislature, and resigned from the county board.

During his first term in the Senate, he was assigned chair of the Senate Committee on Elections and Local Government, and was Senate co-chair of the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions.^[9] LeMahieu was easily re-elected in 2018.^[10]

In the 2020 general election, Wisconsin Senate majority leader Scott L. Fitzgerald was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving his leadership position vacant. In a closed caucus meeting, the Senate Republicans elected LeMahieu as their majority leader just days after the 2020 election.^[11][12]

He opposes the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana in Wisconsin.^[13] He argued Wisconsin would be a "rogue state" if it were to legalize medical marijuana and that there was no "actual science behind it."^[13]

In April 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, LeMahieu said he opposed the Wisconsin government setting COVID-19 rules in place.^[13] He said, "I trust in people to educate themselves and make their own decisions. I don’t think at this point the government needs to tell people how to respond to the pandemic since we’re a year into this."^[13] In October 2021, LeMahieu defended a heavily pro-Republican gerrymandered redistricting map for Wisconsin.^[14]

In January 2022, LeMahieu said that the Republican-led legislature would not confirm any of Tony Evers's appointees for the rest of Evers's term in office.^[15] Evers and LeMahieu were both re-elected to their offices in the 2022 general election, since that time, some of Evers' nominees were subsequently confirmed by the Wisconsin Senate.^[16]

On March 19, 2026, LeMahieu announced that he would not run for re-election in the 2026 election.^[17]

Wisconsin Assembly (2012)

More information Year, Election ...

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
2012	Primary[6]	Aug. 14	Mike Endsley (inc)	Republican	5,144	59.93%	Devin LeMahieu	Rep.	3,427	39.93%	8,583	1,717

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Wisconsin Senate (2014–2022)

More information Year, Election ...

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
2014	General[8]	Nov. 4	Devin LeMahieu	Republican	43,186	59.95%	Martha Laning	Dem.	28,770	39.94%	72,035	14,416
2018	General[10]	Nov. 6	Devin LeMahieu (inc)	Republican	44,680	58.47%	Kyle Whelton	Dem.	31,684	41.47%	76,409	12,996
2022	Primary[18]	Aug. 9	Devin LeMahieu (inc)	Republican	16,963	71.36%	Ruth Villareal	Rep.	4,342	10.23%	23,770	12,621
							Jeanette Deschene	Rep.	2,431	18.27%
	General[19]	Nov. 8	Devin LeMahieu (inc)	Republican	57,836	93.64%	Jarrod Schroeder (write-in)	Dem.	1,237	2.00%	61,765	56,599

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