Pete Karas

Pete Karas

Green Party

Candidate, Wisconsin Secretary of State

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

High school

William Horlick High School

Bachelor's

University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, 1983

Contact

Campaign website

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Pete Karas (Green Party) is running for election for Wisconsin Secretary of State. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3, 2026.^[source]

Karas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Pete Karas earned a high school diploma from William Horlick High School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse in 1983.

Elections

2026

See also: Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 11, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Wisconsin Secretary of State

Pete Karas is running in the general election for Wisconsin Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Pete Karas (G)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State

Incumbent Sarah Godlewski, Collin McNamara, Lorenzo Southall, and JoCasta Zamarripa are running in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 11, 2026.

		Candidate
		Sarah Godlewski
		Collin McNamara
		Lorenzo Southall
		JoCasta Zamarripa

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State

Brayden Myer, Nathan Pollnow, and Cindy Werner are running in the Republican primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 11, 2026.

		Candidate
		Brayden Myer
	Submit photo	Nathan Pollnow
		Cindy Werner

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Pete Karas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Karas' responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Pete Karas is a Wisconsin small business owner, community advocate, and independent-minded candidate for Secretary of State. He lives in Muskego and previously owned Suburban Bourbon, where he worked closely with customers, employees, and local suppliers. That experience gave him a practical understanding of how state policies affect everyday people trying to run a business and support their families.

He has been active in grassroots political organizing and ballot access efforts across Wisconsin, helping independent and third-party candidates get on the ballot and advocating for reforms that give voters more meaningful choices. Frustrated by the limitations of the two-party system, Pete has focused on expanding competition, transparency, and accountability in state government.

Pete is running for Secretary of State to bring a stronger administrative focus to the office — improving record-keeping, public access to information, and modernization of outdated systems — while supporting reforms like ranked-choice voting and more open, responsive government.

He believes public office should be about stewardship and service, not party loyalty, and is committed to making state government more accessible and accountable to the people of Wisconsin.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Independence from the two-party system. Pete Karas' candidacy positions himself outside the traditional Republican–Democratic framework. His campaign focuses on the role of independent and third-party candidates in Wisconsin politics and emphasizes competition, institutional reform, and alternatives to major-party dominance as part of his overall approach to the office.
• Election and structural reform - Pete Karas highlights election-related reforms as a priority, including support for policies such as ranked-choice voting and expanded ballot access. His campaign presents these issues as part of a broader effort to increase voter participation, improve representation, and update aspects of Wisconsin’s electoral system.
• Administrative focus and transparency - Pete Karas’s campaign emphasizes the administrative responsibilities of the Secretary of State’s office, including maintaining accurate public records, improving access to government information, and modernizing outdated systems. His platform frames the role as primarily operational and service-oriented, emphasizing efficiency, clarity, and public accountability.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Electoral reform. Breaking the two-party stranglehold

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also

2026 Elections

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Wisconsin Secretary of State

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