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Joel Kitchens: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 18:38, 11 March 2026

Joel Kitchens
Republican Party
Candidate, Wisconsin State Assembly District 1
Wisconsin State Assembly District 1
Tenure
2015 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
11
Compensation
Base salary
$60,924/year
Per diem
$171/day (with overnight) or $85.50/day (no overnight). Dane County representatives receive only $85.50/day.
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
August 11, 2026
Contact
Official website
Official Facebook
Official X
Official YouTube
Personal Facebook

Joel Kitchens (Republican Party) is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 1. He assumed office on January 5, 2015. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Kitchens (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the Wisconsin State Assembly to represent District 1. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on August 11, 2026.[source]

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Kitchens' professional experience includes founding and owning an animal veterinary business.[1]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Kitchens was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Kitchens was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Kitchens was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Kitchens was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Wisconsin committee assignments, 2017
• Agriculture
• Children and Families, Chair
• Education, Vice chair
• Environment and Forestry
• Financial Institutions
• Tourism

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kitchens served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2026

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2026

General election

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

Republican primary

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens (R) is running in the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on August 11, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2024

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens defeated Renee Paplham and Milt Swagel in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens (R)
 
61.9
 
24,101
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Renee Paplham (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.0
 
14,801
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Milt Swagel (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
5
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
22

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 38,929
Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Renee Paplham advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Renee Paplham Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
6,475
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
2

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,477
Candidate Connection = 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 State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens defeated Milt Swagel in the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens
 
77.1
 
7,858
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Milt Swagel
 
22.8
 
2,319
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
9

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 10,186
Candidate Connection = 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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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kitchens in this election.

Pledges

Kitchens signed the following pledges.

  • U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2022

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens defeated Roberta Thelen in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens (R)
 
62.5
 
19,864
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Roberta Thelen (D)
 
37.5
 
11,916
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
26

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 31,806
Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Roberta Thelen advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Roberta Thelen
 
99.9
 
4,692
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
6

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,698
Candidate Connection = 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 State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens defeated Milt Swagel in the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens
 
77.5
 
6,893
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Milt Swagel
 
22.4
 
1,992
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
10

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,895
Candidate Connection = 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.

Campaign finance

2020

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2020

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens defeated Kim Delorit Jensen and Timothy Lenartowski in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens (R)
 
61.8
 
23,441
Image of Kim Delorit Jensen
Kim Delorit Jensen (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.1
 
14,462
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Timothy Lenartowski (R) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
17

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 37,920
Candidate Connection = 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Kim Delorit Jensen advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kim Delorit Jensen
Kim Delorit Jensen Candidate Connection
 
99.8
 
4,743
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
8

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,751
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens
 
99.8
 
4,863
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
8

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,871
Candidate Connection = 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.

Campaign finance

2018

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2018

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens defeated Roberta Thelen in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens (R)
 
68.4
 
20,651
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Roberta Thelen (Independent)
 
31.5
 
9,519
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
32

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 30,202
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1

Incumbent Joel Kitchens advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens
 
100.0
 
5,008

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,008
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2016

Elections for the Wisconsin State Assembly took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.

Incumbent Joel Kitchens defeated Lynn Utesch in the Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 general election.[2][3]

Wisconsin State Assembly, District 1 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Joel Kitchens Incumbent 60.13% 20,044
     Democratic Lynn Utesch 39.87% 13,289
Total Votes 33,333
Source: Wisconsin Elections Commission


Lynn Utesch ran unopposed in the Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 Democratic primary.[4][5]

Wisconsin State Assembly, District 1 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Lynn Utesch  (unopposed)


Incumbent Joel Kitchens ran unopposed in the Wisconsin State Assembly District 1 Republican primary.[4][5]

Wisconsin State Assembly, District 1 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Joel Kitchens Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2014

Elections for all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 12, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Joe Majeski was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Joel Kitchens defeated Paul Feit, Brian Hackbarth, and Terry McNulty in the Republican primary. Arnie Johnsrud (D) and Jon Kruse (R) were removed from the ballot before the primary elections. Majeski faced Kitchens in the general election.[6][7][8] Kitchens defeated Majeski in the general election.[9]

Wisconsin State Assembly, District 1 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJoel Kitchens 56.7% 16,072
     Democratic Joe Majeski 43.3% 12,256
Total Votes 28,328
Wisconsin State Assembly, District 1 Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJoel C. Kitchens 44% 2,935
Paul M. Feit 27.6% 1,841
Terry McNulty 19.2% 1,281
Brian Hackbarth 9.2% 616
Total Votes 6,673

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Joel Kitchens has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Joel Kitchens, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 25,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.


2024

Joel Kitchens did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Joel Kitchens did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Joel Kitchens did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Kitchens' campaign website highlighted the following issues:[10]

Jobs and the economy

  • Excerpt: "Our local manufacturers are generally coming out of the recession very well, but they are held back by a lack of skilled workers. This skills gap is not unique to our area and it is one of our most urgent challenges. I have supported the Fast Track program to provide grants for training workers and I authored legislation to provide better career counseling to our students."

Education

  • Excerpt: "I first ran for public office when I saw that the Sturgeon Bay School District had lost the support of the community and was facing serious financial difficulties. I have always passionately believed that education is the key to allowing every member of our society to reach his or her full potential. I viewed this challenge as an opportunity to repay the community that has been so great to my family and me."

Protecting our natural resources

  • Excerpt: "Our economy, our health and our way of life are dependent on clean water. Manure management practices that may be acceptable in other parts of the state lead to contaminated ground and surface water in the karst region, with our shallow soil and cracked bedrock."

Tourism

  • Excerpt: "While tourism continues to show steady growth in Door County, Kewaunee County was one of the few counties in the state to show a decline in 2015. This was due, in large part, to the negative publicity the area has received due to our groundwater contamination issues."

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Joel Kitchens campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Wisconsin State Assembly District 1Won general$77,035 $76,208
2022Wisconsin State Assembly District 1Won general$101,781 $87,494
2020Wisconsin State Assembly District 1Won general$103,442 N/A**
2016Wisconsin State Assembly, District 1Won $101,146 N/A**
2014Wisconsin State Assembly, District 1Won $182,589 N/A**
Grand total$565,993 $163,702
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in Wisconsin

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2025.

  • The Freedom Index — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2024.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2023.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2022.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2018.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2017.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2016.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2015.

See also

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External links

Officeholder

Wisconsin State Assembly District 1
  • Website
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  • X
  • YouTube
    		•

    Personal

  • Facebook
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Joel Kitchens, "About," accessed July 24, 2014
    2. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates on Ballot by Election - 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016," accessed November 4, 2016
    3. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2016 Fall General Election Results," accessed December 2, 2016
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 20, 2016
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commission, "2016 Partisan Primary," accessed September 16, 2016
    6. ↑ Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin 2014 fall primary election results," accessed August 12, 2014
    7. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability, "Candidates Registered by Office," June 11, 2014
    8. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2014 Partisan Primary Candidates," accessed June 19, 2014
    9. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Canvass Results for 2014 General Election," December 1, 2014
    10. ↑ Joel Kitchens, "Issues," accessed October 19, 2016

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    2015-Present    		 Succeeded by
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