Paul Ryan endorses Bryan Steil in race for seat

House Speaker Paul Ryan has endorsed his former staffer, Bryan Steil, in the race for his congressional seat.

“I’ve known Bryan a long time. He is a lifelong resident of Janesville. He helped me with budgets back in the early days,” Ryan said Monday. “He knows what he’s doing.”

He described Steil as an “optimistic problem-solver” and called on Republicans to unify around him, noting that the district is being targeted by the liberal political group Organizing for Action.

Ryan said he was backing Steil in an interview with conservative radio talk show host Jay Weber.

Steil, a University of Wisconsin regent, launched his campaign for Ryan’s seat in April, soon after Ryan announced he wasn’t seeking re-election.

Steil is a member of a powerful Janesville political family with close ties to Ryan. He touts his experience as an attorney for manufacturing companies to represent the southeastern Wisconsin district in Congress.

The 37-year-old Janesville native serves as the general counsel to a Milton manufacturer of packaging materials, Charter NEX Films. He was appointed to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents in 2016 by Gov. Scott Walker.

Steil launched his bid just over a week after Ryan, who’s served in Congress for 20 years, announced he would retire at the end of the year. He praised his former boss as a “hard-working, selfless” public servant.

Steil, a Janesville native, was one of a handful of names to emerge as a possible GOP candidate.