Robert Walter Kasten Jr. (born June 19, 1942) is an American government affairs consultant, lobbyist, and former Republican politician from Wisconsin. He served 12 years as a United States senator, representing Wisconsin from 1981 to 1993, and served four years in the U.S.
Born Jun 19, 1942Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 6:05 PM
Robert Walter Kasten Jr. (born June 19, 1942) is an American government affairs consultant, lobbyist, and former Republican politician from Wisconsin. He served 12 years as a United States senator, representing Wisconsin from 1981 to 1993, and served four years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 9th congressional district from 1975 to 1979. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1978. Since leaving elected office, he founded Kasten & Company, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm specializing in assisting international businesses in navigating American trade and regulatory policies.
After earning his master's degree, he worked briefly at Genesco, in Nashville, Tennessee, before returning to Wisconsin and serving as an assistant factory superintendent for the Gilbert Shoe Company in Thiensville, Wisconsin. At the time, his father was the president of the Gilbert Shoe Company, and in 1969, Kasten Jr. was promoted to vice president of marketing and development for the company.2 In Wisconsin, he also served as a personnel officer in the from 1967 to 1972, serving with the .
This page is based on “Bob Kasten” from English Wikipedia, (r1372677997) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
Kasten was active in local civic groups, particularly the Junior Chamber of Commerce; he began attending Republican State Conventions in 1969, serving as a delegate from Ozaukee County.1
He made his first bid for elected office in 1970, running for Wisconsin State Assembly in Milwaukee County's 9th Assembly district, challenging Democratic incumbent Robert L. Jackson Jr. The Milwaukee 9th district at the time comprised one ward of the north side of the city of Milwaukee and most of the neighboring city of Glendale, Wisconsin. Kasten was defeated by Jackson in the general election, receiving just 38% of the vote.4
In the spring of 1972, Kasten was elected an alternate delegate to the 1972 Republican National Convention.5 Around the same time, he was appointed state youth vote coordinator for President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign in Wisconsin.6 Just a few months later, however, he resigned his position with the Nixon campaign and announced that he would launch a primary challenge against incumbent Republican state senator Nile Soik. Wisconsin had undergone a dramatic redistricting in 1972, and Soik's 4th Senate district had been significantly redrawn. Formerly anchored in Milwaukee's northern suburbs, the new district sprawled from northern Milwaukee County through much of conservative Washington County. Kasten attacked Soik from the right on taxes, spending, and business climate, and criticized Soik's support for a budget compromise with Democratic governor Patrick Lucey.78 Kasten won the primary with 55% of the vote, and went on to defeat Democrat Bruce Lowe with 61% of the general election vote.9
Kasten ran for the United States Senate in 1980 and narrowly defeated Democrat long-term incumbentGaylord Nelson. The victory was propelled in part by the popularity of Ronald Reagan at the top of the Republican ticket. In the Senate, Kasten was an outspoken conservative. He was the first Republican to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate since Alexander Wiley left office in 1963.
In 1985, Kasten was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after a District of Columbia police officer observed him running a red light and driving on the wrong side of the road.10 The DUI charges were later dropped.11
In 1986, Kasten narrowly defeated Democrat Ed Garvey to win a second term after a very bitter campaign, one that was characterized by personal attacks and is remembered as one of the nastiest elections in Wisconsin history.12 Kasten was defeated by Democratic state Senator Russ Feingold in 1992.
Since 1993, he has been President of Kasten & Company, a consulting firm.
In July 2007, Kasten joined the presidential campaign of Republican Rudy Giuliani as a foreign policy adviser.16 He chaired Giuliani's Wisconsin campaign, along with former U.S. Representative Scott Klug and former State Senator Cathy Stepp.17
After Giuliani dropped out, Kasten endorsed his close friend and former Senate colleague John McCain.18 In April 2016, Kasten endorsed Republican frontrunner Donald Trump for president in 2016, becoming part of Trump's foreign policy advisory team.19
Cultural references
Writer Mike Baron named a recurring character in his Wisconsin-based comic bookBadger after Kasten, then Wisconsin's junior senator. The character, a peg-legged, vampire-hunting pig named "Senator Bob Kasten", made several appearances in the series.20 A student political party on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus satirically named themselves the "Bob Kasten School of Driving" (a reference to his DUI arrest); it won the campus-wide elections in 1986 and 1987.21
Robert Walter Kasten Jr. (born June 19, 1942) is an American government affairs consultant, lobbyist, and former Republican politician from Wisconsin. He served 12 years as a United States senator, representing Wisconsin from 1981 to 1993, and served four years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 9th congressional district from 1975 to 1979. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1978. Since leaving elected office, he founded Kasten & Company, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm specializing in assisting international businesses in navigating American trade and regulatory policies.
After earning his master's degree, he worked briefly at Genesco, in Nashville, Tennessee, before returning to Wisconsin and serving as an assistant factory superintendent for the Gilbert Shoe Company in Thiensville, Wisconsin. At the time, his father was the president of the Gilbert Shoe Company, and in 1969, Kasten Jr. was promoted to vice president of marketing and development for the company. In Wisconsin, he also served as a personnel officer in the from 1967 to 1972, serving with the .
Kasten was active in local civic groups, particularly the Junior Chamber of Commerce; he began attending Republican State Conventions in 1969, serving as a delegate from Ozaukee County.1
He made his first bid for elected office in 1970, running for Wisconsin State Assembly in Milwaukee County's 9th Assembly district, challenging Democratic incumbent Robert L. Jackson Jr. The Milwaukee 9th district at the time comprised one ward of the north side of the city of Milwaukee and most of the neighboring city of Glendale, Wisconsin. Kasten was defeated by Jackson in the general election, receiving just 38% of the vote.4
In the spring of 1972, Kasten was elected an alternate delegate to the 1972 Republican National Convention.5 Around the same time, he was appointed state youth vote coordinator for President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign in Wisconsin.6 Just a few months later, however, he resigned his position with the Nixon campaign and announced that he would launch a primary challenge against incumbent Republican state senator Nile Soik. Wisconsin had undergone a dramatic redistricting in 1972, and Soik's 4th Senate district had been significantly redrawn. Formerly anchored in Milwaukee's northern suburbs, the new district sprawled from northern Milwaukee County through much of conservative Washington County. Kasten attacked Soik from the right on taxes, spending, and business climate, and criticized Soik's support for a budget compromise with Democratic governor Patrick Lucey.78 Kasten won the primary with 55% of the vote, and went on to defeat Democrat Bruce Lowe with 61% of the general election vote.9
Kasten ran for the United States Senate in 1980 and narrowly defeated Democrat long-term incumbentGaylord Nelson. The victory was propelled in part by the popularity of Ronald Reagan at the top of the Republican ticket. In the Senate, Kasten was an outspoken conservative. He was the first Republican to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate since Alexander Wiley left office in 1963.
In 1985, Kasten was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after a District of Columbia police officer observed him running a red light and driving on the wrong side of the road.10 The DUI charges were later dropped.11
In 1986, Kasten narrowly defeated Democrat Ed Garvey to win a second term after a very bitter campaign, one that was characterized by personal attacks and is remembered as one of the nastiest elections in Wisconsin history.12 Kasten was defeated by Democratic state Senator Russ Feingold in 1992.
Since 1993, he has been President of Kasten & Company, a consulting firm.
In July 2007, Kasten joined the presidential campaign of Republican Rudy Giuliani as a foreign policy adviser.16 He chaired Giuliani's Wisconsin campaign, along with former U.S. Representative Scott Klug and former State Senator Cathy Stepp.17
After Giuliani dropped out, Kasten endorsed his close friend and former Senate colleague John McCain.18 In April 2016, Kasten endorsed Republican frontrunner Donald Trump for president in 2016, becoming part of Trump's foreign policy advisory team.19
Cultural references
Writer Mike Baron named a recurring character in his Wisconsin-based comic bookBadger after Kasten, then Wisconsin's junior senator. The character, a peg-legged, vampire-hunting pig named "Senator Bob Kasten", made several appearances in the series.20 A student political party on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus satirically named themselves the "Bob Kasten School of Driving" (a reference to his DUI arrest); it won the campus-wide elections in 1986 and 1987.21