Donald Trump endorses Wisconsin election denier Janel Brandtjen in GOP Assembly primary
MADISON – Former President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, as she faces a primary contest against state Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown.
It's the second time Trump has backed Brandtjen in a matchup against Knodl, who defeated her last year in the Republican primary for the state's 8th Senate District.
The former president has thrown his support behind two other Wisconsin candidates this year: U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde and 8th Congressional District candidate Tony Wied.
Brandtjen has drawn national attention as one of the Wisconsin Legislature's most prominent purveyors of conspiracies about the 2020 election, at one point calling for it to be overturned because "tyranny is at Wisconsin's door."
Trump has taken notice.
Brandtjen is a "proven fighter for Wisconsin," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
"She has consistently defended constitutional freedoms and fought for free and transparent elections in Wisconsin. Janel has proven her integrity and dogged determination to keep Wisconsin free," Trump wrote. "Wisconsin needs leaders who will empower constituents to hold their elected officials accountable. No one does that better than Janel Brandtjen. She has my Complete and Total Endorsement. Janel will NEVER LET YOU DOWN!"
More: In interview, Trump doesn't commit to accepting Wisconsin election results if he loses
Brandtjen and a number of other GOP officials have been under fire in recent months after the state Ethics Commission alleged Trump's Save America political action committee, Brandtjen, county Republican Party officials and the campaign committee of Adam Steen, who ran against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in 2022, conspired to avoid state fundraising limits for Steen's bid to replace Vos.
The alleged scheme to flood donations to Steen's campaign materialized as Trump and Brandtjen pressured Vos to take illegal and impractical steps to decertify the 2020 election when President Joe Biden defeated Trump by about 20,000 votes.
Waukesha County District Attorney Susan Opper said last month she would not file felony charges recommended by the bipartisan Ethics Commission, but noted her decision did not "clear" the lawmaker. Several others have also declined to pursue criminal charges, and the question remains under review in Washington County.
Knodl serves as chairman of the Senate committee that oversees elections.
Both Knodl and Brandtjen were among the 15 Wisconsin legislators who joined 76 other lawmakers across the country in signing a Jan. 5, 2021, letter to ask then-Vice President Mike Pence to put off certifying the 2020 presidential results a day before a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to prevent Biden from becoming president.
Brandtjen previously led the Assembly's election committee, but her Republican colleagues booted her from their caucus in 2022, citing a loss of trust.
Knodl, who was elected to the Senate in a special election and previously served in the Assembly, announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection to the Senate seat after being drawn into a district with Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, under new legislative maps.
Brandtjen and Knodl will face off in the Aug. 13 primary election.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Donald Trump endorses Janel Brandtjen in Wisconsin Assembly primary
