Political career
Stroebel served on the Cedarburg School Board from 2007 to 2012. [3]
After the 2010 election,Cedarburg's incumbent state representative,Mark Gottlieb,resigned his seat to accept a job in the administration of Governor-elect Scott Walker. His resignation necessitated a special election in the safe Republican 60th Assembly district. Stroebel was the sixth candidate to join the race for the Republican nomination,which ultimately grew to seven. [4] He narrowly prevailed in the April 2011 special Republican primary,with a 61 vote margin over Gary Wickert. [5] On May 3,he won the special election,defeating Democrat Rick Aaron and securing his first term in the Wisconsin State Assembly. [6] [7]
Stroebel won re-election in 2012,but in April 2014,he announced he would seek the Republican nomination for U.S. House of Representatives in the 6th congressional district seat being vacated by the retirement of Tom Petri. [8] The Republican primary attracted two other incumbent state legislators,Joe Leibham and Glenn Grothman,with Grothman ultimately winning the primary. Stroebel came in third with just under 25% of the vote. [9] Grothman went on to won the general election. [10]
Grothman's victory,however,created a vacancy in Wisconsin's 20th Senate district and necessitated another special election in Spring 2015. [11] Stroebel entered the race and faced another Republican primary against Ozaukee County Board Chairman Lee Schlenvogt and Slinger resident Tiffany Koehler. [10] [11] Stroebel and the other two candidates emphasized their support for right-to-work legislation. [10] [12] He won the election with 67% of the vote and was unopposed in the general election. [10] [11] [12]
Stroebel has been on the Joint Finance Committee, [13] and Committee on Government Operations,Technology,and Consumer Protection. [14]
In 2019,Stroebel opposed Governor Tony Evers' proposal to decriminalize marijuana,and equated decriminalization with legalization. [15]
In 2020,during the COVID-19 pandemic,Stroebel opposed Governor Evers' order requiring the use of face coverings in public indoor places to prevent the spread of the virus;along with fellow Republican senator Steve Nass,Stroebel called for a legislative session to nullify the order. [16] The same year,Stroebel also criticized Wisconsin State Fair organizers for deciding to cancel the annual event,accusing the Fair of taking a "defeatist approach". [17]
In 2021,Stroebel introduced legislation that would restrict absentee voting and ballot collection,and impose stricter requirements on voters who are "indefinitely confined" due to age or disability. [18] [19] [20] Disability rights groups opposed the changes. [18]
The 2024 redistricting law significantly redrew state legislative districts,and Stroebel was drawn out of the 20th Senate district and into the 8th Senate district,with fellow incumbent Republican senator Dan Knodl. Knodl quickly announced he would run for Assembly instead of forcing an incumbent vs incumbent primary. [21] Stroebel later confirmed that he would run for re-election in the 8th Senate district. The new district contains almost none of his previous Senate district,other than his native Cedarburg and a few neighboring municipalities in Ozaukee County.
Stroebel faced Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin in the 2024 general election—his first contested election in nearly a decade. The new 8th Senate district was projected to be one of the most competitive Wisconsin Senate districts under the new map,and received heavy investment from both parties. [22] As of mid-October 2024,the 8th Senate district election was already the most expensive state legislative race in Wisconsin history,with combined spending exceeding $2.5 million. [23] [24] In the end,the 8th Senate district ended up the closest Senate election in the state;Stroebel lost by 1.2% of the vote. [25]
On July 25,2025,U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Scott Turner announced that Stroebel had been appointed midwest regional director. [26]
