Assembly District 26 - Competitive Race - Republican Primary - Sheboygan County

2026 Election Coverage
1

Assembly District 26 - Competitive Race +2.7 Dem

In 2024 The 26th Assembly went to Democrat Joe Sheehan who defeated Republican Amy Binsfeld by 843 votes. Joe holds a Ph.D. from Marquette in Educational Administration, a master’s in the same field from University of Houston, and two bachelor degrees from Michigan State. Sheehan is reported to be supportive of legalization of cannabis.

The redrawn 26th Assembly District map now includes the entire city of Sheboygan, the Town of Wilson, and the Town of Sheboygan, reuniting city and town residents in one legislative district.

Incumbent Joe Sheehan - D - He cosponsored SB 644 (Dem version of HDC reg); Absent on total legalization. info@sheehanforassembly.com; https://sheehanforassembly.com/; https://www.facebook.com/sheehanforassembly

And there looks to be a Republican primary brewing:

Republican John Belanger (R) announced, he just lost a city council seat in 2026, lost Mayor race in 2025. email: info@belangerforassembly.com; https://www.belangerforassembly.com/

Tyler Schneekloth (R); youngest candidate in the this race; https://www.facebook.com/tylerforwisconsin; email: tylerforwisconsin@gmail.com; website: https://www.tyler4wisconsin.com/

James Brotz (R) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560740444680; email: JamesBrotz4Assembly@outlook.com phone: 920.777.3811

Eastern Sheboygan County and the City of Sheboygan

Strategies: Help keep this district Dem unless the Republican is going to be super pro hemp and legalization. Make sure hemp cannabis comes up in the Republican primary battle, try to connect this with the Senate Race with Amy Binsfeld in it also (SD 9)

2

Republican James Brotz (R)provides his answsers: James Brotz (R) Assembly District 26 Candidate Questionnaire Answers

Full Name

James Brotz

Date

07/21/2026

Email

JamesBrotz4Assembly@outlook.com

Phone Number

9207773811

Office Sought:

Assembly

Do you currently or have you previously held public office?

No

Is there any cannabis related legislation you have sponsored, co-sponsored, or publicly supported? Would you like to provide a brief statement about your stance on cannabis reform?

No

Do you think individual states should keep their laws in line with federal laws regarding the legalization of cannabis?

No

Do you support ending federal prohibition of cannabis?

Yes

Do you support regulating the HDC (hemp derived cannabinoid) market created under the Industrial Hemp Program / Federal Farm Bill?

Unsure - I Have Questions

If answered YES to the above question about regulating HDC’s, would you support the 2025-26 legislation Senate Bill 682 and Asseembly Bill 747, commonly known as the Testin/Kurtz HDC Reg Bill?

Yes

Do you support legalizing and regulating the responsible use of cannabis by adults in the state of Wisconsin?

Yes

Would you support a two year moratorium implementing any excise tax to evaluate true administration/regulation costs before automatically attaching an exise tax to a regulation program?

Yes

If you support an excise tax above and beyond what is needed to administer a regulation program, what percentage of excise tax do you feel is appropriate? Where do you think excise tax should be spent?

Do you think cannabis should be classified as a Schedule 1 drug?

No

Do you support medical use of cannabis in the State of Wisconsin?

Yes

If you support medical use of cannabis, do you also support patient’s rights to cultivate their own medicine or assign caregivers to do it for them?

Yes

Do you support decriminalization of cannabis in the State of Wisconsin?

Yes

Do you support automatic expungement of non-violent cannabis possession convictions?

Yes

Would you (join, support or not support) The Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus

Join