[2] After graduating from college, he ran for the Wisconsin State Senate in 1969 at age 24 in a special election to replace Frank E. Panzer, who had died in office in August that year.

Keene ran as a conservative and had Richard Nixon's endorsement, but was defeated by Democrat Dale McKenna in a race to fill the traditionally Republican 13th district senate seat.

In 2007, Keene co-founded the American Freedom Agenda (AFA), which describes itself as "a coalition established to restore checks and balances and civil liberties protections under assault by the executive branch.

He also co-chairs the Constitution Project's Liberty and Security Committee, and has said that "the right to appeal one's detention to an independent judge is a cornerstone of responsible, conservative governance.

"[14][15] ATC's parent organization Upstream Ideas wrote that Keene and Proft discussed "the fundamental problem of how to roll back the size and scope of government.

[16] The stunt was organized by gun-safety group Change the Ref, which was founded by the parents of a student killed in the Parkland, Florida, massacre.

The group released a video[17] of the stunt that went viral and ends by asking viewers to sign a petition pushing for universal background checks.