As a young man, Hephner worked as a machinist, and was then employed as a sales representative with the Addressograph Multigraph Corporation after graduating from college.
In the general election, he faced the chairman of the Fond du Lac County board of supervisors, Wilbert Halbach, and went on to win with 56% of the vote.
[15] In the next legislative term, the Legislature and Governor agreed on a new redistricting plan to supersede the 1982 court-ordered map, so Hephner now saw his fourth and final district configuration.
[16] In the 1984 election, Hephner won his tenth and final term in the Wisconsin State Assembly with 57% of the vote, defeating Republican Alberta Churchill.
[17][18] Hephner began openly campaigning to be appointed state secretary of agriculture after the December 1985 resignation of incumbent La Verne Ausman.
In Wisconsin, the secretary of agriculture is chosen by a board, rather than a direct gubernatorial appointment, so the decision was somewhat removed from the hands of Democratic political operatives.
Those operatives, however, did see opportunity for Hephner to seek higher office, and considered him a strong candidate to challenge Republican congressman Tom Petri.
Ultimately, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, James T. Flynn, announced he would not seek re-election, and Hephner quickly declared his candidacy for that office.
He faced a crowded Democratic primary, but his principal opponent was Green Bay area state representative Sharon Metz.
[2] His younger brother, Patrick, was a career United States Navy officer, served three deployments to Vietnam, and retired with the rank of captain.