# Dean Kaufert

Dean R. Kaufert (born May 23, 1957) is an American business owner and Republican politician from Neenah, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 53rd Assembly district since 2025. He previously represented the 55th Assembly district from 1991 to 2015, and served as mayor of Neenah from 2014 to 2022.

## Early life

Dean Kaufert was born in Menasha, Wisconsin, on May 23, 1957. He was raised and educated in Menasha and neighboring Neenah, Wisconsin, graduating from Neenah's Armstrong High School in 1975. After graduation, Kaufert was employed at Jay's Foods, a grocer.
In these years, Kaufert was active in local recreational bowling, basketball, and baseball leagues. Through these interests, in 1983, Kaufert and a friend decided to start a small business dealing in trophies, plaques, and other similar awards, known as All-Sport Trophy & Engraving.

## Political career

In 1986, Kaufert won his first public office when he was elected to the Neenah City Council. He defeated incumbent city councilmember Lester Herzfeld, 343–245, in what was considered a local upset. Kaufert credited his win to an aggressive door-to-door canvassing effort. Kaufert won a rematch two years later for another two-year term, and was re-elected without opposition in 1990.
A few weeks after his 1990 city council re-election, Kaufert announced he intended to seek the Republican Party nomination for Wisconsin State Assembly in the 55th Assembly district. His run effectively set up a primary challenge against incumbent Esther K. Walling, but a month later, Walling announced she would not run again. Her withdrawal invited a wave of additional candidates to jump into the race, and Kaufert ultimately faced three opponents in the Republican primary, but prevailed with 48% of the vote. In the general election, Kaufert defeated Democrat Stanley P. Sevenich with 59% of the vote. Kaufert resigned from the city council shortly after winning election to the Assembly.
He won re-election twice, in 1992 and 1994, by wide margins, then faced no opponent for the next five elections.
In the 1997 legislative term, Kaufert was appointed to a coveted seat on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, responsible for Wisconsin's budget and appropriations process.
In 2006, Kaufert faced a serious challenge in the general election from Democrat Mark Westphal, the president of the Fox Valley Area Labor Council for the previous 10 years. Westphal campaigned against the Republican majority in the Legislature, which he cast as overly partisan and focused on special interests. Boosted by a national Democratic wave, Westphal gave Kaufert his closest race yet; Kaufert prevailed by 811 votes. Westphal ran again in 2008, but Kaufert won again by the slightly larger margin of 2,080 votes.
The 2010 election ushered in full Republican control of Wisconsin state government, and resulted in Republicans passing one of the most dramatic gerrymanders in United States history. Kaufert's district saw its most significant reconfiguration since 1954. Neenah's twin city, Menasha, was removed from the district and replaced with parts of rural neighboring townships in Winnebago and Outagamie counties.
In 2014 Kaufert was elected mayor of Neenah, Wisconsin. The night of his mayoral election, Kaufert announced he would not run for re-election to the Assembly, but remained in both offices until the end of the 2013–2014 term.
Kaufert was re-elected without opposition to another four-year term as mayor in 2018, but announced in 2021 that he would not run for a third term.
In May 2024, Kaufert announced his intention to run again for Wisconsin State Assembly in the new 53rd Assembly district. The 2024 redistricting had returned Kaufert's hometown, Neenah, to the same district as twin city Menasha, assembling the new 53rd Assembly district in a configuration similar to Kaufert's old 55th Assembly district prior to the 2011 redistricting. In the general election, Kaufert faced fellow Neenah resident Duane Shukoski, a labor union leader at the local Kimberly-Clark plant. The district was projected to be highly competitive, and the result proved to be one of the closest legislative races in the state. Kaufert prevailed by just 364 votes.

## Personal life and family

Dean Kaufert is one of four children born to Kenneth Kaufert and Ruth (née Raddatz) Kaufert. Dean's parents divorced, and both subsequently remarried. His mother died of a long illness at the relatively young age of 37, in 1976.
Dean Kaufert married Renee Strunk on July 22, 1978. They have two adult children and still reside in Neenah.

## Electoral history
### Wisconsin Assembly, 55th district (1990–2012)

| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Elected | Elected | Elected | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Total | Plurality |
| 1990 | Primary | Sep. 11 | Dean R. Kaufert | Republican | 1,821 | 48.91% | Kenneth A. Harwood | Rep. | 1,180 | 31.69% | 3,723 | 641 |
| 1990 | Primary | Sep. 11 | Dean R. Kaufert | Republican | 1,821 | 48.91% | Owen W. Williams | Rep. | 521 | 13.99% | 3,723 | 641 |
| 1990 | Primary | Sep. 11 | Dean R. Kaufert | Republican | 1,821 | 48.91% | John W. Collins | Rep. | 201 | 5.40% | 3,723 | 641 |
| 1990 | General | Nov. 6 | Dean R. Kaufert | Republican | 8,221 | 59.01% | Stanley P. Sevenich | Dem. | 5,710 | 40.99% | 13,931 | 2,511 |
| 1992 | General | Nov. 3 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 14,435 | 62.93% | David M. Kollath | Dem. | 8,502 | 37.07% | 22,937 | 5,933 |
| 1994 | General | Nov. 8 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 9,955 | 69.01% | Jason J. Hanson | Dem. | 4,471 | 30.99% | 14,426 | 5,484 |
| 1996 | General | Nov. 5 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 16,065 | 100.0% | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | 16,065 | |
| 1998 | General | Nov. 3 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 12,296 | 100.0% | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | 12,296 | |
| 2000 | General | Nov. 7 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 17,556 | 98.42% | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | 17,837 | |
| 2002 | General | Nov. 5 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 12,312 | 98.74% | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | 12,469 | |
| 2004 | General | Nov. 2 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 19,662 | 98.30% | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | 20,003 | |
| 2006 | General | Nov. 7 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 10,396 | 51.99% | Mark Westphal | Dem. | 9,585 | 47.93% | 19,997 | 811 |
| 2008 | General | Nov. 4 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 14,259 | 53.88% | Mark Westphal | Dem. | 12,179 | 46.02% | 26,466 | 2,080 |
| 2010 | General | Nov. 2 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 13,569 | 98.79% | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | 13,735 | |
| 2012 | Primary | Aug. 14 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 4,612 | 64.94% | Jay Schroeder | Rep. | 2,487 | 35.02% | 7,102 | 2,125 |
| 2012 | General | Nov. 6 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 19,142 | 62.95% | Mark Westphal | Dem. | 10,202 | 33.55% | 30,408 | 8,940 |
| 2012 | General | Nov. 6 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Republican | 19,142 | 62.95% | Rich Martin | Ind. | 1,016 | 3.34% | 30,408 | 8,940 |

### Neenah mayor (2014, 2018)

| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Elected | Elected | Elected | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Total | Plurality |
| 2014 | General | Apr. 1 | Dean R. Kaufert | Nonpartisan | 2,623 | 57.65% | George Scherck (inc) | Non. | 1,927 | 42.35% | 4,550 | 696 |
| 2018 | General | Apr. 3 | Dean R. Kaufert (inc) | Nonpartisan | | | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | --unopposed-- | | |

### Wisconsin Assembly, 53rd district (2024)

| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Elected | Elected | Elected | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Total | Plurality |
| 2024 | General | Nov. 5 | Dean R. Kaufert | Republican | 15,801 | 50.51% | Duane J. Shukoski | Dem. | 15,437 | 49.35% | 31,280 | 364 |