Dean R. Kaufert (born May 23, 1957) is an American business owner and Republican politician from Neenah, Wisconsin.
[12] Her withdrawal invited a wave of additional candidates to jump into the race, and Kaufert ultimately faced three opponents in the Republican primary, but prevailed with 48% of the vote.
[16][17][18][19][20] In the 1997 legislative term, Kaufert was appointed to a coveted seat on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, responsible for Wisconsin's budget and appropriations process.
[21] In 2006, Kaufert faced a serious challenge in the general election from Democrat Mark Westphal, the president of the Fox Valley Area Labor Council for the previous 10 years.
[21] Westphal campaigned against the Republican majority in the Legislature, which he cast as overly partisan and focused on special interests.
Neenah's twin city, Menasha, was removed from the district and replaced with parts of rural neighboring townships in Winnebago and Outagamie counties.
[25] The night of his mayoral election, Kaufert announced he would not run for re-election to the Assembly, but remained in both offices until the end of the 2013–2014 term.
In the general election, Kaufert faced fellow Neenah resident Duane Shukoski, a labor union leader at the local Kimberly-Clark plant.