Trevor Jung thinks that many of Wisconsin’s Republican lawmakers have a coasting problem. And it’s a big reason why the 30-year-old Democrat is running to represent the state’s Senate District 21.
Republicans have controlled the legislature in Madison since 2011, and it’s been many of the same lawmakers holding the reins of the state all along. Meanwhile, Jung says, “life has gotten more expensive, opportunity has become limited and the American Dream seems out of sight for too many.”
“We have lawmakers here in Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled state legislature who’ve gotten lazy,” Jung said. “But the same people are telling you that they deserve another term in office.”
Jung, a first-time state Senate candidate, is taking on another first-timer, business executive Jim Croft, for the seat after the district’s incumbent state senator, Republican Van H Wanggaard, decided not to seek re-election and opened up one of the state’s most closely watched legislative races.
Jung is not new to elected office, though. The Racine native first jumped into the political arena at 22, when he was elected as a city alderman. After two terms on the Racine Common Council, he was appointed to director of RYDE Racine, the city’s public transit system.
His experiences working for the city of Racine have contributed to his frustrations with the state legislature, which he describes as an “adversary” instead of an “ally” to the state’s working families.
“What we need are people in public office who are laser-focused on bringing down the cost of living, who want to make sure that opportunities are expanded by connecting folks to jobs and making sure that our schools have the resources they need,” he told UpNorthNews.
‘The place that gave me everything’
Jung’s motivation to run is also driven by his unique background. He was born in Russia and placed in an orphanage by his biological mother who didn’t have the resources to care for him. At the age of 2, he was adopted by a single dad from Racine.
He says he was raised with a loving family and neighbors who all helped give him “this all-American childhood with Little League baseball.” Jung called it a “gift” he wants to return.
When I grew up, I realized my calling was to give back to the place that gave me everything,” he said.
After Jung jumped into the race and began knocking on hundreds of doors a week, it became clear that the biggest issue for his potential constituents was affordability.
The district spans southwest Milwaukee County and northeast Racine County. He said voters there have told him that the rising price of groceries and gas connected to the war in Iran and the president’s tariffs and trade policy are taking a toll, as are rising home prices and utility bills, which he pinned to the state’s “Wild West policies” on data center development.
The second biggest issue for voters, he says, is a deep concern about the quality of the public schools their children attend. Jung shared that he spoke with one mother to a teen who is deaf and has developmental disabilities who had to transition to homeschooling “because her school district didn’t have the resources to provide for her.”
“That’s a direct result of almost two decades of Republican leadership in the state legislature underfunding our public schools,” he said.
The path forward
Jung believes that many of the problems that are burdening residents of his district can be addressed if Democrats can gain majorities in both the state Senate and Assembly, and increase the distribution of state tax revenue back to cities, towns, and municipalities.
These distributions were slashed by 9% by Republican Governor Scott Walker, who was elected in 2011. Republicans in the state legislature have continued to withhold the revenue, resulting in a $3.3 billion revenue surplus.
Jung said some municipalities have been forced to go to referendum to continue to pay for essential services like fire, police and public works departments while that surplus sits untouched. In Racine, he shared, the city went to referendum to maintain proper firefighter staffing.
In addition to returning that tax revenue to the local governments that need it, Jung is also looking to expand initiatives addressing rising costs should he be elected on Nov. 3.
He supports the state taking up the federal government’s expansion of Medicaid to provide BadgerCare to more Wisconsinites, and also wants to see the price of insulin capped and for public schools to expand the free breakfast and lunch programs for students.
The Senate candidate also supports the proposed expansion of the Homestead Tax Credit, which will help residents pay their mortgages or rent, as well as the expansion of the Wisconsin Shares childcare subsidy program.
Beyond tackling affordability concerns in his district, Jung is also looking to bring civility and mutual respect back to political discourse in his district. He says the community is ready for this change.
“People are sick of the divisiveness and nastiness of politics… the culture that’s come down from the president with his name-calling,” Jung said. “People don’t want to look at their neighbors as enemy combatants.”
