Two Democrats and three Republicans round out the top five. Senators who live outside Dane County can claim $140 per day they are in Madison on official business.
By Gus Pirlot, THE BADGER PROJECT
In addition to their $60,924 yearly salary they get in the 2025-2026 legislative session, Wisconsin state senators, like their counterparts in the Assembly, can claim supplementary payment for days spent in Madison on legislative business to cover lodging and food expenses. Most senators can claim $140 per day, while those who live in Dane County can claim half this rate.
The five state senators who claimed the most per diem payments in 2025 were, from most to least, LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), Eric Wimberger (R-Gillett), Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), who is retiring.
| NAME | PARTY | DAYS CLAIMED | AMOUNT |
| Johnson, La Tonya | Democrat | 150 | $21,000 |
| Testin, Patrick | Republican | 146 | $20,440 |
| Wimberger, Eric | Republican | 134 | $18,760 |
| Spreitzer, Mark | Democrat | 121 | $16,940 |
| LeMahieu, Devin | Republican | 112 | $15,680 |
In a statement to The Badger Project, Johnson’s office wrote that the senator “has always had jobs where you are required to show up to work, be responsible, and make yourself available to actually do the job. Those are the real-world expectations of any employer, including taxpayers, so those are the same standards she holds herself to in the state Senate.”
Testin and Wimberger did not respond to a message requesting comment.
In 2025, the 33-member Wisconsin State Senate claimed a total of $397,102 in per diem payments, according to records from the Senate Chief Clerk. That’s an average of about $12,000 per senator.
Former legislators warn that no checks exist to ensure legislators are claiming per diem for days when they are truly in town on official business. Some advocate for increasing the annual salary and abolishing the per diem system.
On top of per diem, senators are also eligible for mileage reimbursement for one round trip from their home to the Capitol for each week in which they claim a per diem day, said Senate Chief Clerk Cyrus Anderson. Those payments are not included in the per diem totals.
State Sens. Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie), Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield) and Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) claimed the least in per diem in 2025, each collecting about $6,000 or less. Kapenga claimed the fewest per diem days of the entire Wisconsin legislature, at 35.
With a salary of about $61,000, Wisconsin legislators are paid above the national average. But this number comes with many caveats. Some states have very part-time legislatures, and some, like New Mexico, pay their legislators nothing. Of the states that pay an annual salary, the lowest in 2025 was $100 in New Hampshire and the highest was $142,000 in New York, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 2025, the average annual base salary for a state legislator was $47,904.
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DONATEPER DIEM CLAIMED BY ALL MEMBERS OF THE SENATE IN 2025
| NAME | PARTY | DAYS CLAIMED | AMOUNT |
| Johnson, La Tonya | Democrat | 150 | $21,000 |
| Testin, Patrick | Republican | 146 | $20,440 |
| Wimberger, Eric | Republican | 134 | $18,760 |
| Spreitzer, Mark | Democrat | 121 | $16,940 |
| LeMahieu, Devin | Republican | 112 | $15,680 |
| Marklein, Howard | R-17 | 112 | $15,680 |
| Drake, Dora | D-4 | 110 | $15,400 |
| Ratcliff, Melissa | D-16 | 210 | $14,700 |
| Roys, Kelda | D-26 | 195 | $13,650 |
| Keyeski, Sarah | D-14 | 97 | $13,580 |
| Hesselbein, Dianne | D-27 | 190 | $13,300 |
| Feyen, Dan | R-20 | 92 | $12,880 |
| Quinn, Romaine | R-25 | 91 | $12,740 |
| Larson, Chris | D-7 | 90 | $12,600 |
| Smith, Jeff | D-31 | 88 | $12,320 |
| Carpenter, Tim | D-3 | 88 | $12,320 |
| Felzkowski, Mary | R-12 | 86 | $12,040 |
| Pfaff, Brad | D-32 | 86 | $12,040 |
| Bradley, Julian | R-28 | 86 | $12,040 |
| Nass, Stephen | R-11 | 82 | $11,480 |
| Jacque, Andre | R-1 | 79 | $11,060 |
| James, Jesse | R-23 | 74 | $10,360 |
| Cabral-Guevara, Rachael | R-19 | 73 | $10,220 |
| Habush Sinykin, Jodi | D-8 | 74 | $10,080 |
| Tomczyk, Cory | R-29 | 64 | $8,960 |
| Wanggaard, Van H. | R-21 | 64 | $8,960 |
| Dassler-Alfheim, Kristin | D-18 | 61 | $8,540 |
| Jagler, John | R-13 | 60 | $8,400 |
| Stafsholt, Rob | R-10 | 57 | $7,980 |
| Wall, Jamie | D-30 | 52 | $7,280 |
| Wirch, Robert | D-22 | 58 | $6,032 |
| Kapenga, Chris | R-33 | 35 | $4,900 |
| Hutton, Rob | R-5 | 40 | $4,600 |
| Knodl, Daniel | R-8 | 1 | $140 |
| 2025 TOTAL | $397,102 |
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