State Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, and former state Rep. Ellen Schutt, R-Clinton, told WisPolitics they will consider a run for the seat of state Sen. Steve Nass after the longtime lawmaker announced today he won’t seek reelection.
Nedweski, in her second term in the Assembly, said a significant factor in her decision will be which GOP caucus has the best shot of being in the majority next session.
“I want to make sure that my vote means something, and it means a lot less in the minority,” said Nedweski, chair of the Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency Committee.
When state senators retire, the Assembly members in the district are often viewed as possible candidates for the seat. Along with Nedweski, the other reps in that district are Speaker Robin Vos, who hasn’t said whether he will seek reelection this fall, and Majority Leader Tyler August, who has been viewed as Vos’ successor in caucus leadership.
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Schutt served one term in the Assembly before deciding against seeking reelection under new maps that were put in place two years ago. August, R-Walworth, was originally drawn into a seat with Nedweski. But he instead moved into the 31st AD, which included a significant portion of his old Assembly seat. Had Schutt run, she would’ve faced August in a primary.
Now executive director of the Wisconsin Future Farmers Association, Schutt said she planned to talk over the prospects of a run with her husband before making a decision soon.
Nass, 72, is the longest-tenured Republican in the state Legislature. He first won a seat in the Assembly in 1990 and served 12 terms there before his election to the state Senate in 2014.
In a statement, the Whitewater Republican said it was time for “a new fighter to take on the mission of preserving life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for the citizens of the 11th State Senate District.”
Nass has been considered one of the most conservative members of the Legislature, and in recent years rarely voted for the state budget, even when it was put together by Republicans.
According to Nass’ office, he voted no on nine of the 18 budgets he considered during his legislative career.
“I have always been bipartisan in my scorn of fiscal mismanagement and bureaucratic overreach regardless of whether the Republicans or Democrats were in charge, since the affliction of Big Government is a disease that infects both parties in Madison,” Nass said.
Nass is the second member of the Senate GOP caucus to decide against seeking reelection. While Sen. Rob Hutton’s suburban Milwaukee district is a swing seat, Nass’ is deep red.
Along with those two, Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Hortonville, has said he won’t run again this fall.
Note: This story was updated Feb. 3, 2026, at 10:22 a.m.
