Jarchow announces run for Wisconsin Attorney General

“I am concerned with the legacy we are leaving for our kids,” said Adam Jarchow about his decision to enter the Wisconsin Attorney General race. Jarchow stopped at The Star News on Thursday afternoon on his way to a campaign event.

Jarchow is a Polk County private attorney and former state legislator. He will face Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney in the August 9 Republican primary. The winner of that primary will advance to face incumbent Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul.

Jarchow’s roots run deep in northwestern Wisconsin. He was raised in Polk County and graduated high school in Clear Lake before going to college earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and his law degree from the University of Florida College of Law. He and wife, Barbara, married in law school and made the decision to come back to Wisconsin to raise their children. They have 9-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, and recent celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary.

Jarchow has worked in private practice as an attorney for 18 years both as part of a larger firm and for the past five years with his own firm. In 2014 was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly and served until 2018 when he chose not to seek reelection. Jarchow is proud of the conservative legislation he was able to get passed during his time in office and his reputation as a strong conservative fighter willing to stand up to his own party when necessary. He makes note that he was one of the few legislators to vote agains the FoxConn deal. “I am not a go along to get along guy,” he said, claiming credit for some of assembly speaker Robin Vos’ gray hairs.

In 2018 Jarchow was unsuccessful in a bid for Wisconsin’s 10th senate district.

Jarchow said he had been content being in private business and had never thought about running for offi ce again until the events of the past few years. “I am not a big fan of the career politician model,” he said.

“I feel our country is in a bad spot,” he said, noting in particular that he does not agree with how Kaul is running the Department of Justice.

As someone with private practice and business interests, Jarchow says he has the skills to run the department of justice, a large state agency with about 750 employees. He said his background in administrative and regulatory law will be valuable as will his administration skills, especially with regard to controlling the bureaucracy. While criminal justice is a major component of the DOJ’s work, Jarchow said the non criminal justice side is incredibly important.

“The attorney general plays a role in protecting state sovereignty,” he said, referencing cases brought by states against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates. He also said it is important to stand up for parents with the respect to the open records laws and schools.

He said it is important to get someone in from outside the “prosecutor’s club” to think beyond prosecutions at the DOJ and instead be a part of the governing process. He noted that while he was in the legislature, former attorney general Brad Schimel would work with legislators on proposals and said there needed to be a return to that. As someone who has relationships with people in the legislature, he has the skills to make that happen.

Some ideas he has include needing to reform the bail process, needing to add prosecutors and special investigators to the Department of Criminal Investigations. “There is a lot of stuff we need to do, it will take a lot of working with the legislature to make it happen,” he said.

Jarchow said he seeks to bring accountability and effi ciency to the DOJ. He said that because it doesn’t cost DOJ attorneys money even if they lose a case, they don’t take into account the cost of legal cases on business, individuals or municipalities. In announcing his candidacy Jarchow is conscious of needing to appeal to voters from around the state and has built a coalition of supporters from around Wisconsin. Describing Wisconsin as a purple state, Jarchow said he felt they had a strong chance in the primary and to take the seat from Kaul. “There are no gimmes in Wisconsin,” he said.

He said this is especially true as people are getting fed up with the current status quo. He said bringing a northern Wisconsin viewpoint to the office will be a step in the right direction.

He condemned Kaul as being “a woke, leftist attorney general” for being a leading in the “no bail, low bail philosophy.”

“Voters across the state are fed up with it,” he said. Jarchow said his top priorities when elected would be to look out for election integrity. He cited the investigations that have gone on from the non partisan legislative audit bureau and the Racine County sheriff’s investigation into voting in the nursing homes there. “There are some pretty serious issues,” he said. As attorney general he would put resources toward investigating these issues.

Another priority would be to stand with law enforcement, describing the actions of Kaul in response to situations such as the incidents in Kenosha to putting targets on the back of law enforcement.

Beyond state issues, Jarchow said the attorney general needs to be willing to stand up to mandates from Washington, D.C., ensuring the rights of parents and against a Federal attorney general who equates parents at school board meetings with terrorists.

The primary election is August 9. The general election will occur on November 8.