2025 Dane County Executive election

← 2024 (special)

April 1, 2025

2029 →


Candidate	Melissa Agard	Stephen Ratzlaff
Popular vote	199,932	46,432
Percentage	80.81%	18.77%

County executive before election

Melissa Agard

Elected County executive

Melissa Agard

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The 2025 Dane County Executive election was held on April 1, 2025. Incumbent County Executive, who had just been elected months earlier in a 2024 special election, ran for re-election to a full term. Agard's only opponent was salesman Stephen Ratzlaff, a former State Assembly candidate.

In seeking re-election, Agard noted that her "number one priority" was "be[ing] a responsible and good steward of tax dollars," noting that her "approach focuses on fiscal responsibility, smart investments and accountability in government spending."^[1] Ratzlaff, meanwhile, ran on a single-issue platform of reducing property taxes, arguing that "property taxes have increased at a rate that is unsustainable."^[2]

Agard won re-election in a landslide, receiving 81 percent of the vote to Ratzlaff's 19 percent.^[3]

General election

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Melissa Agard, incumbent County Executive^[4]
Stephen Ratzlaff, salesman, former State Assembly candidate^[5]

Declined

[edit]

Dana Pellebon, County Supervisor, 2024 candidate for County Executive^[4]

Endorsements

[edit]

Melissa Agard

Organizations

Results

[edit]

2025 Dane County Executive election^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Melissa Agard (inc.)	199,932	80.81%
	Nonpartisan	Stephen Ratzlaff	46,432	18.77%
	Write-in		1,059	0.43%
Total votes			247,423	100.00%

References

[edit]

^ DuClos, Liam (March 17, 2025). "Dane County executive race Q&A: Melissa Agard and Stephen Ratzlaff". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
^ DuClos, Liam (January 10, 2025). "Melissa Agard and Steinhafels salesman vie for Dane County executive". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
^ Pollack, Nicole (April 2, 2025). "Dane County Executive Melissa Agard reelected". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
^ ^a ^b Beran, Liam (March 21, 2025). "Dane County Executive Melissa Agard does have an opponent". Isthmus. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
^ Cremeens, Crowenna (March 25, 2025). "Stephen Ratzlaff challenges Melissa Agard for Dane County Executive". WORT. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
^ "Editorial: Reelect Dane County Executive Melissa Agard". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. March 26, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
^ "2025 Spring Election Endorsed Candidates". Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. 2025. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
^ "2025 Spring Election". Dane County Clerk. 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.

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