EXCLUSIVE: Senate Candidate Jung Spent Year Campaigning on County Time in Likely Violation of Criminal Law
Democrat Trevor Jung, Racine’s transit director, has spent a full year campaigning for Wisconsin Senate on public time, which very likely constitutes criminal misconduct in public office.
The Heartland Post | September 10, 2026
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Racine transit director Trevor Jung, a Democrat running for the Wisconsin Senate, recorded full days of regular pay on multiple dates while posting campaign videos, hosting fundraisers, and appearing at partisan events, according to employer time records obtained exclusively by the Heartland Post.
Jung, who serves as director of RYDE, the public transportation system serving the City of Racine, is the Democratic nominee for the 21st Senate District in the race against Republican Jim Croft to replace the retiring GOP Sen. Van Wanggaard.
Racine employment records show Jung marked full regular-pay days on dates that coincide with campaign work. On May 28th, he posted to his official campaign Facebook page that he had spent an earlier workday in Greendale for his campaign talking to voters “about the issues that matter most to working families across Wisconsin.” His work records showed that he claimed to be working full days that entire week.
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Wisconsin law treats the use of public work time for partisan campaigning as a potential crime. Under Wis. Stat. § 946.12, doing campaign work on public time or using public resources can constitute misconduct in public office, a Class I felony.
The City of Racine Employee Handbook, which governs city employees including those in transit operations, expressly provides that employees “may not engage in any form of political activity on the job” and may not engage in political activity off the job “to such an extent that it interferes with doing his/her/their job.”
Racine County’s ethics code similarly allows political activity only if it does not interfere with official duties and does not use county equipment or property.
Jung is a full-time salaried official, not an hourly worker whose pay is calculated minute by minute, however that distinction does not authorize campaign work during hours when a full-time public employee is expected to perform government duties. Public employers still require that paid workdays be used for the public’s business.
You can read much more in the Heartland Post. But that’s not all. See more about how “Trevor Jung is taking advantage of taxpayers” from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | September 14, 2026
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Leah Peterson, communications director for the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate, said the organization filed a records request with the City of Racine “after hearing complaints that Trevor Jung was conducting his campaign for state Senate during the hours he ‘works.’”
“The completed records request and social media posts point to an alarming truth: Trevor Jung is taking advantage of taxpayers while seeking a promotion,” Peterson said in a statement.
The Committee to Elect a Republican Senate shared the records it received with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in which the organization claimed there were at least 19 days where Jung was credited for working while his campaign posted on social media or spoke about going to events.
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Jung said he is planning on unpaid leave of absence starting Oct. 1 through Election Day on Nov. 3.
