Rep. Dan Knodl wins Republican primary for crucial 8th Senate District seat

MADISON - A Republican state lawmaker from Germantown will face a Whitefish Bay Democrat in a race for a pivotal seat in the state Senate representing Milwaukee's northern suburbs.

Rep. Dan Knodl defeated fellow state Rep. Janel Brandtjen and Thiensville Village President Van Mobley in a Republican primary for the 8th Senate District.

The race was called less than an hour after polls closed Tuesday evening, with more than 50% of the votes in the three-way race going to Knodl.

In a statement, Knodl said his win showed that voters in the 8th district "want continued common sense conservative representation."

"We’re offering a vision of economic prosperity, safe communities and pragmatic solutions to the voters of the 8th Senate District," he said.

Knodl and Jodi Habush Sinykin will compete in the April 4 spring election to replace longtime former state Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills.

The races comes at a time when the Senate GOP caucus is seeking to hold onto a supermajority, which gives Senate Republicans the power to remove impeached state officers — including the governor, attorney general, and other officials. At the same time, Democrats are making more headway in the traditionally conservative suburbs surrounding Milwaukee.

Between 2018 and 2022, River Hills voters swung 24 points in Democrats' favor. Other communities in the district saw a similar movement toward Democrats. In Menomonee Falls, Republicans still have the edge but it got considerably smaller over the last four years when looking at voting patterns in the governor races.

Brandtjen's loss comes after Republicans and Democrats each spent thousands against Brandtjen, with GOP efforts aimed at keeping her from moving forward and Democratic spending to boost Brandtjen.

The Menomonee Falls Republican has acquired a national platform in recent years among GOP supporters of Donald Trump who believe the former president's false claims of rampant election fraud. Trump has repeatedly endorsed Brandtjen, including in this primary.

Wisconsin Democrats, including Habush Sinykin, paid for mailers and television advertisements ahead of Tuesday's primary promoting the conservative bona fides of Brandtjen in an effort to boost her appeal to conservative voters because Democrats deemed her more beatable than Knodl.

Republican groups also spent money to keep her from moving forward, including Americans for Country First, a national Republican group created to support the reelections of GOP members of Congress who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection.

Habush Sinykin said in December she plans to focus her campaign on restoring abortion access, public safety, economic issues, and education. If elected, she would be the first Democrat to represent the Senate seat in the northern Milwaukee suburbs in 30 years.

“As a Wisconsin state senator, I will be deliberate and rational as I work toward solutions, and will conscientiously bring the voices of the 8th District with me to Madison,” she said in a statement.

Habush Sinykin previously worked for Midwest Environmental Advocates, a group that has sued state officials over policies affecting the environment.

Knodl, who was first elected to the state Assembly in 2008, said in a statement launching his campaign that he intended to focus on policies related to inflation, education and public safety.

“When I entered office, Wisconsin was unable to control its spending despite being one of the highest taxed states in the country. With bold conservative reforms, we turned multi-billion dollar deficits into unprecedented surpluses while providing tax relief for every single Wisconsin family, homeowner, and small business," Knodl said.

“As State Senator, I will vote to support law enforcement, expand educational opportunities, roll back bureaucratic overreach, and pursue continued tax reform.”

Molly Beck and Laura Schulte can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Knodl wins Wisconsin 8th Senate District Republican primary election