Michael Alfonso

Michael Alfonso’s public record begins with the campaign itself: a 26-year-old first-time candidate who won the August 11, 2026 Republican primary for Wisconsin’s open Seventh District with 49,720 votes, 48.96 percent, carrying President Trump’s endorsement and his father-in-law’s name into a five-way field. ^[6][16][17]

By his campaign biography, Alfonso was raised in the district, first in Vilas County and then in Wausau, in a family whose story he traces to grandparents who fled Cuba at the end of the Castro revolution. A campaign release adds that he grew up in Land O’Lakes before the family moved to Wausau, where he met his future wife in middle school and graduated from Newman Catholic High School. The biography gives no birth year; The Associated Press reported his age as 26 in July 2026, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as 25 when he announced in October 2025. ^{[1][3][17][13]}

Education and professional preparation

The campaign biography records a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, paid for, it says, by “putting on boots and working 10-hour days building houses, paving roads, and laying concrete”; the AP dates the degree to 2022. Transcripts and degree records were not part of this review. After marrying at 22 he returned, by the same biography, to construction and concrete work in Hayward, and a year later became producer of The Dan Bongino Show, which the AP describes as about a year in Florida; a campaign spokesman told the Journal Sentinel in October 2025 that he “most recently worked as a producer for Bongino Inc., the organization that makes” the show. At the July 7, 2026 primary debate hosted by WJFW Television in Rhinelander, the Journal Sentinel reported, he said he works as an accountant for the Diocese of Superior. In February 2026 his campaign told Wisconsin Public Radio that he had lived in Wisconsin his whole life “with the exception of one year for a short term position as a producer for Dan Bongino and his podcast.” No employer record was retrieved for any of these positions; each rests on the campaign’s or the candidate’s statements as cited. ^{[1][17][13][15][36][30]}

The seat, the father-in-law and the nomination

The Seventh District seat was Sean Duffy’s from 2011 until his early retirement in 2019, and then Tom Tiffany’s. Tiffany announced a run for governor on September 23, 2025, opening the seat, and won the Republican nomination for governor in the same August 11 primary with 468,019 votes, 95.32 percent. Alfonso filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on October 28, 2025 and announced the next day, describing himself as a “Pro-Trump conservative” and calling for “a new generation of conservative leaders in Washington, D.C.” President Trump endorsed him on January 27, 2026. In the primary he took 49,720 of 101,558 Republican votes to 27,009 for Kevin Hermening and 15,937 for Jessi Ebben. ^{[13][14][6][7][18]}

He faces Democrat Fred Clark of Bayfield, a forester and former state representative who served in the Assembly from 2009 to 2015 and was executive director of the environmental advocacy group Wisconsin’s Green Fire until stepping down to run; Clark won the Democratic primary with 25,716 votes, 37.66 percent, over Ginger Murray and Chris Armstrong. The general election is November 3, 2026. ^{[15][16][25][6]}

From a Wausau Catholic high school to a podcast studio and a Trump-endorsed primary, the documented milestones show how a short record was built.

Federal Election Commission summary pages, the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s canvass and ballot-access memo, and reporting by The Associated Press, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin Public Radio establish the following. For a candidate who has held no office there is no voting record to read; outcomes are described at the level those records support, and the candidate’s own statements are identified as his.

The campaign biography says he married “his best friend from high school, Evita Duffy, when he was 22 years old” and began married life in Hayward; the AP reported in July 2026 that he had become a father in May. Evita Duffy-Alfonso is the daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who represented the district from 2011 until 2019. The campaign’s issues page mentions a sister-in-law with Down syndrome. ^{[1][17][13][2]}

The biography describes an upbringing “steeped in traditional Wisconsin values of faith, community, hard work, hockey, and American patriotism” and records his graduation from Newman Catholic High School in Wausau; the issues page says he believes “a Christian society responds to suffering with care, not death.” Neither names a church or denomination, and this profile makes no claim beyond those sentences. The sources reviewed document no charitable board service, and none is asserted. ^[1][3][2]

The following summarizes the agenda on Alfonso’s campaign website and in his campaign’s releases and reported remarks. These are proposed priorities, not completed accomplishments. ^[2][3]

A useful profile includes policy tradeoffs, the limits of a claim, and responses to material criticism.

• Age, experience and the party’s own skeptics

  The sharpest criticism came from inside the district’s Republican organizations. The AP reported in July 2026 that party leaders in at least three counties had spoken out against him as too inexperienced; Iron County chair Tanner Hiller told Wisconsin Public Radio, “I think what they’re doing is wrong morally.” Sawyer County chair John Righeimer told the site Wisconsin Right Now in March, as WPR relayed, “It seems like a machine behind him is force-feeding us someone who is not ready.” When Alfonso skipped an April 22 Iron County debate in Mercer for a fundraiser, WPR reported, Kevin Hermening posed beside his empty chair and said, “Of course, he’s not here tonight. He’s in Washington, D.C., raising more money at a big political fundraiser being sponsored by organizations that are lobbying with the U.S. Department of Transportation right now”; the campaign did not respond to WPR’s requests for an interview. Hermening, who ran for the seat at 26 in 1986 and lost by 25 points, told the AP of his own youthful run, “The voters told me that I wasn’t ready or prepared yet.” Alfonso’s answer was that Washington and Jefferson “were 26 when they were first elected to public office,” and, “I’m a young man with the energy of a young man, but I have the values of someone who’s in their 60s.” After the primary, Ebben’s concession statement said, “It’s time for conservatives to unite behind Michael Alfonso for our next representative in Congress.” The voters settled the primary question; the experience question is one the general election will put again. ^[17][31][21]

• The father-in-law, the department and the donors

  NOTUS reported on November 6, 2025 that Secretary Duffy was to headline a meet-and-greet for his son-in-law which, a source familiar with the matter told the outlet, he had not cleared with the administration; a Transportation Department spokesperson said, “Leave it to D.C. gossip to find a father supporting his son-in-law breaking news,” and that “The secretary would be attending his son-in-law’s meet and greet in his personal capacity.” ProPublica reported in March 2026 that dozens of contributions to the campaign came from lobbyists, executives and political action committees tied to industries the department funds and regulates, that many of those donors had never given to Duffy or Tiffany, and that the Delta Air Lines PAC was among the sponsors of a December fundraiser whose invitation listed Duffy as a special guest and stated, “Sean Duffy is not soliciting funds in connection with this event.” The campaign did not respond to ProPublica; Duffy’s spokesman said, “The Secretary attends fundraising events in his personal capacity. Regulatory decisions are guided by career safety professionals, the law, and the facts.” The AP later reported that Duffy had repeatedly returned to the district to campaign and raise money, that his old campaign account had put $1 million into the super PAC backing Alfonso, and that Alfonso had received “tens of thousands of dollars in donations from transportation interests”; asked whether he would be beholden to those donors, Alfonso said he answers only to God and the voters. WPR put the Duffy account’s giving to the PAC at $1.5 million in August. Duffy for Wisconsin’s $1,000,000.00 in other disbursements through June 30, 2026 and Northwoods Future PAC’s $1,775,000.00 in receipts from other committees appear on the commission’s summary pages; the identity of individual donors and the recipient of the Duffy committee’s money do not, and this review did not read the itemized receipts. ^{[19][35][17][34][10][8]}

• “Carpetbagger”: the residence, the registration and the job

  A primary advertisement, in the campaign’s August 6 account, “calls Michael Alfonso a ‘carpetbagger’ with no job.” WPR reported on August 7 that the thirty-second ad, captured by the tracking service AdImpact, claimed he had no job, had been registered as a Florida voter until January and was living at Duffy’s Wisconsin home, and that it came from American Future Fund Political Action, a group created on June 2 which an FEC filing showed had spent around $135,000 on it. The campaign attributed the ad to Jessi Ebben and said it was bankrolled by “an anti-Trump dark money PAC”; Ebben’s campaign denied the accusation and said federal law does not allow candidates to coordinate with outside groups. The campaign answered that “Michael Alfonso grew up in Land O’Lakes, in the heart of the 7th District, before his family moved to Wausau,” that he graduated from Newman Catholic High School and that he has worked since he was 14. On the record: the nomination paper lists his residence in the City of Hayward and the Journal Sentinel lists Hayward; WPR reported in February that voter records showed him registered in Ocean Breeze, Florida, from October 2024 and re-registered in Wisconsin ten days before the January 27 endorsement at a home near Hayward owned by Sean Duffy and Rachel Campos-Duffy, and noted that the law requires a House candidate to live in the state, not the district. The campaign’s statement to WPR was that “Michael has lived in Wisconsin his whole life with the exception of one year for a short term position as a producer for Dan Bongino and his podcast, this was not a permanent relocation.” On the job, the only statement is his own, that he works as an accountant for the Diocese of Superior, made at the July 7 debate. On the money, WPR identified Northwoods PAC as the committee backing Ebben, funded by Elizabeth Uihlein, and the AP reported that Ebben also had the backing of Club for Growth and Diane Hendricks. ^{[3][34][5][15][30][17]}

• The Venmo captions

  In August 2026 the Democratic National Committee’s FactPost account circulated old Venmo payments of his captioned “The strippers” and “High supplies.” Alfonso posted screenshots showing the payments were $5, wrote that “It’s wildly dishonest to leave out the part where the ‘strippers’ were $5” and that “You can write literally anything in a Venmo note. This is called a joke,” and asked supporters for $5 contributions, saying “None of the proceeds go to strippers or high supplies—only toward defeating the radical left in November.” Fox News reported the exchange on August 19; the campaign reposted it. The captions, the amounts and the response are all on the record; what the payments were for is not established beyond his account. This account rests on the Fox News report and the campaign’s reproduction of it; the posts themselves were not retrieved. ^[22][3]

• The district and the general election

  Tiffany carried the district by 27 points in 2024, per the Journal Sentinel, and the AP puts President Trump’s 2024 margin there at 22 points; The Center Square reported after the primary that the Cook Political Report rates the November race solidly Republican, a rating this review could not read on Cook’s own page. Clark, the Democratic nominee, said on primary night that “This Congress has been an abject failure for northern Wisconsin.” His campaign site lists rebuilding the rural economy, border safety and immigration, health care, farms and forests and the rule of law as priorities, and states that “The Clark for Wisconsin Campaign does not accept contributions from corporate Political Action Committees.” Through July 22, 2026 his committee reported $423,041.39 in receipts and $173,976.92 in cash against Alfonso’s $1,351,546.03 and $663,408.47. Ratings and margins describe the terrain; they are not evaluations of either candidate. ^{[16][17][21][24][12][7]}

• Claims this review did not measure

  The campaign’s statement that its first quarter set the district record for a non-incumbent Republican, its July report of a poll showing a 21-point primary lead, its $12 billion farm-relief figure and its description of a rival’s funders as a dark-money PAC are the campaign’s own claims, relayed here with that label. The Cook Political Report’s rating page refused automated requests; its rating is cited as The Center Square reported it, and no other rating is cited. ^[3][21]

Government records anchor the profile: the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s canvass of the partisan primary and its ballot-access memo, and the Federal Election Commission’s candidate and committee summary pages. Campaign pages supply the candidate’s own biography and positions; reporting by The Associated Press, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Public Radio, ProPublica, The Badger Project, The Center Square, NOTUS, NBC News, Fox News, WEAU and WXPR supplies responses and scrutiny; the opponent’s campaign pages are used for his stated positions only.

1. 01
   Meet Michael Alfonso — campaign biographyAlfonso for Congress (campaign) · undated; read September 17, 2026
   The campaign biography: Vilas County and Wausau upbringing, construction work through UW–Madison, the mathematics degree, marriage at 22, Hayward, The Dan Bongino Show, the Cuban grandparents, COVID and Charlie Kirk. Self-descriptions.Campaign or advocacy material
2. 02
   Michael Alfonso on the Issues That MatterAlfonso for Congress (campaign) · undated; read September 17, 2026
   The twelve campaign planks quoted in this profile, including housing, farms, education, life, immigration, the stock-trading ban and Gen Z; the sister-in-law with Down syndrome. Proposals, not record.Campaign or advocacy material
3. 03
   Endorsements, press releases and news — campaign media pageAlfonso for Congress (campaign) · March 7 – August 31, 2026; read September 17, 2026
   The endorsement list; releases of March 7, April 14, July 16, 17, 18, 29 and 30 and August 6 and 20, 2026: fundraising claims, the Trump tele-rally, the advertisement on Social Security taxes, the answer to the carpetbagger ad, the Venmo repost; published media contact.Campaign or advocacy material
4. 04
   Alfonso for Congress — campaign home pageAlfonso for Congress (campaign) · read September 17, 2026
   Footer disclaimer naming Alfonso for Congress as the payer; the linked X and Facebook accounts; the home page’s Trump Endorsed banner and its feed of the candidate’s posts.Campaign or advocacy material
5. 05
   Nomination Paper for Representative in Congress — Michael Alfonso (form posted for circulators)Alfonso for Congress (campaign); Wisconsin Elections Commission form · April 2026
   The nomination paper as posted by the campaign, listing the candidate’s residence in the City of Hayward, WI 54843, for the November 3, 2026 general election as a Republican for the Seventh District. The street address is not reproduced here.Campaign or advocacy material
6. 06
   Canvass Results for 2026 Partisan Primary — 8/11/2026Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC Canvass Reporting System) · report generated August 27, 2026
   Representative in Congress District 7, Republican: Alfonso 49,720 (48.96%), Hermening 27,009, Ebben 15,937, Baum 4,893, Raihala 3,926, 73 scattered, of 101,558; Democratic: Clark 25,716 (37.66%), Murray 21,726, Armstrong 20,764 of 68,282. Governor, Republican: Tiffany 468,019 (95.32%). Read from the commission’s summary PDF.Government record
7. 07
   Candidate overview — ALFONSO, MICHAEL (H6WI07223), 2026Federal Election Commission · coverage through July 22, 2026; read September 17, 2026
   Alfonso for Congress (C00924902): receipts $1,351,546.03, individual $1,140,546.03, other committees $211,000.00, disbursements $688,137.56, cash $663,408.47, no loans or debts; statement of candidacy filed October 28, 2025; sponsored leadership PAC listed.Government record
8. 08
   Committee overview — NORTHWOODS FUTURE PAC (C00922955), 2026Federal Election Commission · coverage October 10, 2025 – July 22, 2026; read September 17, 2026
   Receipts $3,125,001.00 (individual $1,350,001.00; other committees $1,775,000.00); disbursements $2,567,441.23; independent expenditures $2,239,749.88; cash $557,559.77. The summary page does not name the candidates supported; the figures are consistent with the AP’s description of the super PAC backing Alfonso.Government record
9. 09
   Committee overview — NORTHWOODS PAC (C00920199), 2026Federal Election Commission · coverage July 1, 2025 – July 22, 2026; read September 17, 2026
   Receipts $1,500,110.73, all from individuals; disbursements $1,130,131.58; independent expenditures $949,880.61; cash $369,979.15. The summary page does not name the candidates supported or opposed.Government record
10. 10
    Committee overview — DUFFY FOR WISCONSIN (C00464339), 2026Federal Election Commission · coverage January 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026; read September 17, 2026
    Sean Duffy’s former House committee: receipts $310,025.93 with no contributions; disbursements $1,140,926.51, of which $1,000,000.00 other disbursements and $140,926.51 operating; cash $1,247,342.17. The recipient of the $1,000,000.00 is not named on the summary page.Government record
11. 11
    Committee overview — MOVEMENT FOR INNOVATION, CONSERVATISM, HONOR, AND EMERGING LEADERSHIP FUND (C00951137), 2026Federal Election Commission · coverage April 1 – June 30, 2026; read September 17, 2026
    The leadership PAC the commission lists as sponsored by Alfonso: no receipts, no disbursements and no cash for the period.Government record
12. 12
    Candidate overview — CLARK, FREDERIC (H6WI07207), 2026Federal Election Commission · coverage September 24, 2025 – July 22, 2026; read September 17, 2026
    Fred Clark for Wisconsin (C00920868): receipts $423,041.39, individual $408,692.22, cash $173,976.92; statement of candidacy filed October 9, 2025; open-seat Democratic candidacy.Government record
13. 13
    Sean Duffy’s son-in-law announces GOP bid for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional DistrictMilwaukee Journal Sentinel (Lawrence Andrea) · October 29, 2025
    The announcement: age 25, “Pro-Trump conservative,” born in Vilas County, UW–Madison, construction; a spokesman on the Bongino Inc. producer job; Duffy’s service 2011–2019; a county chair’s criticism of his age.Independent reporting
14. 14
    U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany enters the 2026 race for Wisconsin governor, 3rd Republican in the fieldMilwaukee Journal Sentinel (Lawrence Andrea) · September 23, 2025
    Tiffany’s announcement, opening the Seventh District seat; his re-election margins of at least 20 points; the early field.Independent reporting
15. 15
    Meet the candidates in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional DistrictMilwaukee Journal Sentinel (Laura Schulte) · August 3, 2026
    Residence Hayward; his statement at the July 7 WJFW debate that he works as an accountant for the Diocese of Superior; the Bongino and construction work; the eight primary candidates, including Clark’s Assembly service and Wisconsin’s Green Fire role.Independent reporting
16. 16
    Michael Alfonso, son-in-law of Sean Duffy, wins congressional primaryMilwaukee Journal Sentinel (Laura Schulte) · August 11, 2026
    Primary-night report: his statement on tax cuts and a new generation of Republicans; Tiffany’s 27-point 2024 margin; Clark’s statement; the general-election matchup on November 3.Independent reporting
17. 17
    Sean Duffy’s son-in-law divides Trump-backing Republicans in a Wisconsin congressional raceThe Associated Press (Scott Bauer) · July 6, 2026
    Age 26; the 2022 degree, Florida and the podcast; marriage at 22 and fatherhood in May; county chairs’ opposition and Hiller’s quote; Hermening’s 1986 run; Duffy’s $1 million and Uihlein’s $1 million to the super PAC; Elizabeth Uihlein’s $1 million on Ebben’s side; transportation-interest donations; his answers; the Trump, Johnson and Turning Point Action endorsements.Independent reporting
18. 18
    Trump endorses Tiffany for Wisconsin governor, Alfonso for CongressThe Center Square (Jon Styf) · January 27, 2026
    The endorsement night; Alfonso’s post accepting it and pledging to be a steadfast MAGA warrior for the people of the Seventh District.Independent reporting
19. 19
    Sean Duffy Makes Unapproved Campaign Stop in WisconsinNOTUS (Reese Gorman); now published by The Washington Sun · November 6, 2025
    The November 11 meet-and-greet the White House had not approved; the Transportation Department’s statement that the secretary attended in his personal capacity.Independent reporting
20. 20
    Wisconsin House District 7 Primary Results 2026NBC News (vote data via The Associated Press) · updated September 15, 2026
    NBC News Decision Desk projections: Alfonso and Clark winners; Republican shares 48.9, 26.6 and 15.7 percent; Democratic 37.6, 31.8 and 30.3 percent.Independent reporting
21. 21
    Alfonso prevails, Van Orden-Cooke rematch coming in Wisconsin racesThe Center Square, via Yahoo News · August 12, 2026
    Post-primary report: the shares for Alfonso, Hermening and Ebben; the Cook Political Report’s solidly Republican rating; Ebben’s concession statement urging conservatives to unite behind Alfonso.Independent reporting
22. 22
    ‘Stripper’ Venmo ‘scandal’ makes Dems the punchline as Trump candidate flips script on viral DNC postFox News · August 19, 2026
    The DNC FactPost post on the Venmo captions; Alfonso’s response, the $5 amounts and the fundraising pitch; his wife’s comments.Independent reporting
23. 23
    Michael Alfonso and Sec. Brooke Rollins tour Dutch Dairy in ThorpWEAU (Eau Claire) · August 3, 2026
    The Agriculture Secretary’s visit; his data-center “local control” statement and spending remarks.Independent reporting
24. 24
    Clark for Wisconsin — campaign home pageClark for Wisconsin (opponent’s campaign) · read September 17, 2026
    The opponent’s stated priorities and his campaign’s statement that it accepts no corporate PAC contributions. Used for his stated positions only.Campaign or advocacy material
25. 25
    Meet Fred — Clark for WisconsinClark for Wisconsin (opponent’s campaign) · read September 17, 2026
    The opponent’s self-description as a forester and land manager, business owner and rural legislator. Used for his stated background only.Campaign or advocacy material
26. 26
    File:Michael Alfonso (55484353315).jpg — file page and licenseWikimedia Commons (photograph by Gage Skidmore) · August 4, 2026; read September 17, 2026
    The portrait’s source page: the candidate speaking at a town hall in New Richmond, Wisconsin, published under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.Professional or biographical source
27. 27
    Candidate master file, 2025–2026 (cn26.zip)Federal Election Commission (bulk data) · read September 17, 2026
    The commission’s candidate master: ALFONSO, MICHAEL, H6WI07223, Republican, Wisconsin House District 7, open seat, principal committee C00924902; CLARK, FREDERIC, H6WI07207, C00920868. A compressed text file.Government record
28. 28
    Committee master file, 2025–2026 (cm26.zip)Federal Election Commission (bulk data) · read September 17, 2026
    The commission’s committee master: NORTHWOODS FUTURE PAC (C00922955) and NORTHWOODS PAC (C00920199) as independent-expenditure-only committees, DUFFY FOR WISCONSIN (C00464339) as a Republican House principal committee, and the leadership PAC C00951137. A compressed text file.Government record
29. 29
    Duffy funneled $1 million to son-in-law’s Republican primary campaign for CongressThe Badger Project (Annie Pulley), published by PBS Wisconsin · March 31, 2026
    Names Northwoods Future PAC as the super PAC that received $1 million from Duffy for Wisconsin in 2025 and $1 million from Richard Uihlein, and reports, citing FEC filings, that its October–December 2025 spending all supported Alfonso; the Florida voter registration; transportation-industry PAC donations.Independent reporting
30. 30
    Half the candidates for Wisconsin House seat recently lived outside district or stateWisconsin Public Radio (Rich Kremer) · February 24, 2026
    Voter records: an active registration in Ocean Breeze, Florida, from October 2024, and re-registration in Wisconsin ten days before the Trump endorsement at a home near Hayward owned by Sean Duffy and Rachel Campos-Duffy; the campaign’s statement on his one year in Florida; the state-residence rule for House candidates.Independent reporting
31. 31
    Northern Wisconsin House primary tests power of Trump endorsementWisconsin Public Radio (Rich Kremer) · May 14, 2026
    The April 22 Iron County debate he skipped for a fundraiser; Hermening’s and Ebben’s criticism; Sawyer County chair Righeimer’s remarks; Northwoods Future PAC spending and the Uihleins’ giving as of May; his announcement-video line on experience; reported remarks on birthright citizenship and deportations; the show’s pause when Bongino joined the FBI.Independent reporting
32. 32
    Jessi Ebben fails to keep GOP, Democratic rivals off 7th Congressional District primary ballotWisconsin Public Radio (Rich Kremer) · June 10, 2026
    The commission’s unanimous vote rejecting the three challenges filed by Ebben’s campaign manager; 1,482 Alfonso signatures challenged; the May debate he skipped; Clark’s reaction.Independent reporting
33. 33
    Ballot Access Challenges for Fall 2026 Elections — staff memo for the June 10, 2026 Commission meeting (EL 26-41, 26-42, 26-43)Wisconsin Elections Commission · June 10, 2026
    Case EL 26-43, Thomas Schroeder v. Michael Alfonso: 1,000 signatures required, 1,482 challenged, 1,481 recommended valid; staff analysis under 2025 Wisconsin Act 126 and the recommended motion not to sustain the challenge. Read from the commission’s PDF.Government record
34. 34
    Attack ad calls GOP House candidate Michael Alfonso ‘nepo baby’Wisconsin Public Radio (Rich Kremer) · August 7, 2026
    The American Future Fund Political Action advertisement and its claims; the campaign’s and Ebben’s responses; Northwoods Future PAC’s spending and the Duffy account’s $1.5 million; Northwoods PAC as the committee backing Ebben with $1.5 million from Elizabeth Uihlein.Independent reporting
35. 35
    Sean Duffy’s Son-in-Law Michael Alfonso Running Congressional Campaign Fueled by Transportation LobbyProPublica (Megan O’Matz) · March 18, 2026
    Contributions from lobbyists, executives and PACs tied to industries the Transportation Department regulates; the December fundraiser invitation and its caveat; the department’s statement; Northwoods Future PAC’s $1 million from Duffy’s former committee; the campaign did not respond.Independent reporting
36. 36
    Republican candidates for 7th Congressional District meet in debateWXPR (John Burton) · July 8, 2026
    The Rhinelander debate hosted by WJFW Television with Baum, Ebben, Hermening and Alfonso; Alfonso’s statement of his commitments, including a ban on asset managers buying single-family homes.Independent reporting

No matching sources. Try “Clerk,” “Senate,” or “campaign.”

Scope & method. Reviewed September 17, 2026. This is a documented overview of publicly available biography, campaign record and stated priorities for a first-time candidate who has held no public office; there is no voting record to read. The Wisconsin Elections Commission’s canvass and its June 10, 2026 ballot-access memo were read from the commission’s PDFs; the commission’s web pages refused automated requests, as did WisPolitics, Ballotpedia, OpenSecrets, Truth Social, the Cook Political Report and the Federal Election Commission’s filing viewer. Campaign-finance figures are the FEC’s summary figures as displayed on its candidate and committee pages for the periods stated; itemized receipts and independent-expenditure schedules were not read, and the attribution of particular donations and expenditures to particular candidates rests on The Associated Press, Wisconsin Public Radio, ProPublica and The Badger Project, as cited. Voter-registration records are described as Wisconsin Public Radio reported them and were not read directly. Employment records, degree transcripts and the July 7 debate recording were not part of this review; every employment claim is identified as the candidate’s or the campaign’s. Numerical claims retain their original meaning and attribution; campaign figures are identified as such. The source list provides direct links so readers can check the underlying material. Filings and campaign pages may change after this review.

Images. The candidate portrait is a photograph by Gage Skidmore of the candidate speaking at a town hall in New Richmond, Wisconsin, on August 4, 2026, published on Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license and reproduced here resized and attributed. No campaign-owned photograph is used. Inclusion does not imply campaign authorization or endorsement of this publication. ^[26]