Wisconsin county elects GOP executive for first time in decades: 'People are concerned about crime'

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Kenosha Wisconsin elects GOP exec for first time in decades in wake of BLM riots

Wisconsin State Representative Samantha Kerkman (R) on how she was able to flip a Kenosha seat.

Kenosha, Wisconsin elected a Republican county executive for the first time in decades after a wave of Black Lives Matter riots hit the area in the summer of 2020. 

"Public safety is a big concern. … Crime is something people are concerned about in our area," State Rep. Samantha Kerkman told "Fox & Friends First" Friday, adding that inflation, jobs and education are the other big issues for voters.

KENOSHA COUNTY RAVAGED BY BLM RIOTS FLIPS RED AFTER DECADES OF DEM LEADERSHIP

Protests outside Kenosha County Courthouse in response to the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. (Getty Images)

The county flipped red for the first time in decades after the city gained widespread attention amid damaging riots and the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. 

Voters elected Samantha Kerkman on April 5th as the county executive. The race was described as nonpartisan, but Kerkman had the backing of Republicans and serves as a Republican state representative. Her opponent, Rebecca Matoska-Mentink, is a Democrat and serves as the Clerk of Courts. 

It is the first time a woman will serve in the position and the first time since at least 1998 that a Republican has been elected. The Associated Press reported Kerkman is the first Republican ever to hold the officially nonpartisan office, though Fox News has not independently confirmed the report.

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Kerkman told host Carley Shimkus she and her campaign staffers knocked on over 30,000 doors and she saw that people are "energized" for the upcoming midterms.

"We are healing from the past two years and people are strong and we want to pull together and work with all the different stakeholders, federal, state and local leaders and our business community to build Kenosha."