Meet the 24th Assembly District candidates in the Republican primary in Tuesday's election

Two current legislators are running in the Republican primary for the 24th Assembly District seat of the state Legislature in the Aug. 13 primary election.

Rep. Janel Brandtjen and Sen. Dan Knodl face off in the primary, with the winner taking on Democrat William Walter in the Nov. 5 general election. Walter is unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Brandtjen is the incumbent in the 22nd Assembly District but, because of legislative map changes, she was moved into the 24th.

Knodl is the incumbent in the 8th Senate District but, with another senator, Duey Stroebel, also in the district after the map changes, Knodl chose to run for the 24th Assembly seat.

The district's incumbent, Paul Melotik, was moved to the 22nd District and is running there.

The 24th Assembly District includes Milwaukee's western suburbs like Germantown and Menomonee Falls.

See the new state Assembly districts

This map shows Wisconsin state Assembly districts under the previous 2022 map on the left, and the new 2024 map on the right. Each district is colored according to whether itleans Democrat, leans Republican, or is acompetitive district (within 5%).

Old maps (2022)

New maps (2024)

Note: The partisan lean of districts is calculated based on voting data from national and local elections from 2016 to 2022. Districts with less than 5% difference in Republican and Democratic votes are considered competitive districts.

Map by Andrew Hahn and Eva Wen / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Here's what to know about the candidates:

Janel Brandtjen

Residence: Menomonee Falls

Political experience: Nine years as an Assembly representative, former Waukesha County supervisor

Occupation: Owner of an advertising agency, state representative

Policies: Brandtjen's campaign website doesn't list any specific policies or priorities. In 2022, fellow Assembly Republicans expelled her from the party caucus. citing a lack of trust. She had campaigned against Speaker Robin Vos and promoted false claims about the 2020 election. Brandtjen has promoted baseless conspiracy theories about the state's election system and gave a platform in the state Capitol to election deniers through committee hearings.

More: Waukesha County DA won't pursue charges against Rep. Janel Brandtjen in alleged fundraising scheme

Dan Knodl

Residence: Menomonee Falls

Political experience: State Senate assistant majority leader in 2011 and 2015; current member of the Wisconsin State Senate

Occupation: State senator

Policies: On his campaign website, Knodl lists providing inflation relief, cutting government waste and reducing taxes, education and keeping communities safe as top priorities.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Meet 24th Assembly District candidates in Republican primary election