(The Center Square) – Whitefish Bay Resident Bill Berrien announced on Wednesday he plans to run for Wisconsin governor as a Republican.
Berrien joins Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann in the 2026 run for governor.
Schoemann led U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, WI-7th Congressional, in a straw poll at the Republican Party of Wisconsin convention in May. Tiffany has not announced if he is running in the race.
Gov. Tony Evers has also said he will announce his decision on if he will run for governor again after the state budget was completed but he declined to make an announcement when asked at a press conference while he signed the budget at 1:30 a.m. last week.
Senate President Mary Felzkowski also declined to say if she would run after she voted against the state budget deal, the first time a Senate President in Wisconsin had done so.
Berrien is owner and CEO of Pindel Global Precision and Liberty Precision, manufacturing companies that make precision-machined components.
He advertised himself as a Navy SEAL for nine years who first took part in Army Ranger School and the SEAL Sniper Course.
“Bureaucrats and politicians like Tony Evers have failed Wisconsin,” Berrien said in a statement. “They sold our land to China, encouraged illegal immigration in our communities, and welcomed boys into our daughters’ sports and locker rooms. The time for change is now.”
Wisconsin Democrat Chair Devin Remiker responded to the announcement by noting Berrien’s wealth.
“Bill Berrien’s rich enough to buy himself some attention and clueless enough to think that’s going to work — just like Elon Musk did this past April only to see his political career end,” Remiker said in a statement. “The WisDems are already building on our playbook that helped take down Brad Schimel, Tim Michels, and Eric Hovde, and we have no doubt we’ll be in an even stronger position to defeat whoever Trump handpicks to do his bidding in the primary and emerges as the nominee.”
Berrien said that he want to put Wisconsin residents first, building American and taking the “fight to China.”
“I’ll back the blue and get criminal illegal immigrants off our streets, and as a dad and coach, I promise to protect our daughters,” Berrien said. “Just like President Trump, I’m a political outsider and a businessman. It’s time that we fire the bureaucrats and hire a businessman to fix the problems and take our state back.”
