WAUSAU, Wis. — Michael Alfonso, a 26-year-old with no political experience, is making a bid for the congressional seat once held by his father-in-law, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy — and the race is creating a rift among Republicans who normally stand united behind President Donald Trump.
When critics question whether he has what it takes to serve in Congress as its youngest member, Alfonso has a ready response: he points to America’s founding fathers.
“They were 26 when they were first elected to public office,” said Alfonso, a Republican.
Duffy has thrown his full weight behind his son-in-law’s campaign, repeatedly flying back to the Wisconsin 7th Congressional District to stump for Alfonso and help raise money. He also directed $1 million from his former congressional campaign account toward supporting Alfonso’s run.
Alfonso has also landed the endorsement of President Trump, who dubbed him a “MAGA warrior.” Yet even that high-profile backing hasn’t silenced critics within the district — including prominent Republicans — who argue Alfonso simply isn’t ready for the role.
“I think it’s insulting to people in the 7th that someone who lacks qualifications and any life experiences and any kind of demonstrable leadership skills or experience is even being touted as a candidate,” said Meg Ellefson, a 20-year resident of the district who voted for Trump three times and now opposes him. “It’s super aggravating to me.”
The August 11 Republican primary will determine whether Trump’s endorsement, Duffy’s name recognition in the district, and Alfonso’s fundraising edge are enough to carry the political newcomer to victory.
Taking a cue from his father-in-law’s own brush with reality television — Duffy appeared on MTV’s “Real World” in 1997 — Alfonso participated in a YouTube video series called “Great American Road Trip,” which Duffy launched in June alongside his wife and 11 children.
Duffy first won the 7th District seat in 2010, flipping a district that Democrats had held for 41 years. He served nearly nine years before stepping away from politics, then returned to public life last year when Trump appointed him transportation secretary.
Alfonso has made no apologies for his youth or his lack of a political track record.
“I’m a young man with the energy of a young man, but I have the values of someone who’s in their 60s,” Alfonso said, noting that he married Duffy’s daughter Evita Duffy at age 22 and became a father in May.
Alfonso graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2022 and later relocated to Florida, where he spent about a year working on a podcast hosted by Trump supporter Dan Bongino. Before that, he held construction jobs while attending college.
Alfonso has said that conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination inspired him to enter the race, describing it as part of a “spiritual battle for the soul of our nation.” Kirk’s Turning Point Action organization has endorsed him.
Alfonso’s main Republican rival, Kevin Hermening, brings a very different resume to the table. Hermening is a former Marine who was among 66 Americans taken hostage by Iran for 444 days beginning in 1979. Photos of a then-20-year-old Hermening meeting with former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter are displayed on his office wall.
Over the decades since, Hermening has built a career as a financial planner spanning nearly 40 years, served 16 years on a local school board, and chaired the Marathon County Republican Party for 24 years — helping Duffy and dozens of other Republicans win races at every level across the district.
Hermening also ran for Congress once before — in 1986, when he was the same age Alfonso is today, 26. He lost by 25 percentage points to Democratic incumbent Rep. David Obey.
“The voters told me that I wasn’t ready or prepared yet,” Hermening, now 66, said during an interview at his Wausau office. “I was ill prepared to have actually done the job, and I’m not saying that because Mr. Alfonso’s in the race. It’s a fact.”
Other candidates in the primary include Ashley Furniture executive Jessi Ebben, who has the support of major Republican megadonors; Niina Baum, a dog musher; and Don Raihala, an accountant and real estate broker.
While Alfonso has secured endorsements from House Speaker Mike Johnson and four of Wisconsin’s six Republican members of Congress, local party officials in the district have publicly pushed back on his candidacy.
Republican leaders in at least three counties have voiced concerns about Alfonso’s lack of experience and raised questions about Duffy’s outsized influence in the race.
Iron County Republican Party Chair Tanner Hiller accused Duffy of leveraging his connections to boost his son-in-law’s chances.
“I think what they’re doing is wrong morally,” Hiller told Wisconsin Public Radio in May. “There’s a lot of people that have better credentials, that know this district, that will represent this district better than Michael Alfonso.”
Alfonso’s campaign has also drawn scrutiny after he received tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from transportation-related interests — a notable detail given that Duffy oversees the federal agency responsible for the nation’s transportation system. When asked whether those donations would create obligations, Alfonso was direct.
“That’s it,” Alfonso said, indicating he answers only to God and the voters.
Hermening, however, suggested the donors will expect something in return. “I would think that the people would want to get paid back,” he said.
Duffy’s Transportation Department spokesperson Nathaniel Sizemore, when asked about the donations, said Duffy remains focused solely on carrying out the president’s agenda despite his ongoing involvement in the campaign.
A super PAC backing Alfonso has received $1 million from Duffy’s old congressional account and an additional $1 million from Republican megadonor Richard Uihlein, whose shipping and packaging company Uline is headquartered in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Uihlein’s wife, Elizabeth Uihlein, donated $1 million to a separate PAC backing Ebben. Ebben also has the support of Club for Growth and Wisconsin billionaire builder and GOP megadonor Diane Hendricks.
Alfonso is leaning hard on Trump’s endorsement while also insisting that hard work — not the president’s blessing — will ultimately decide the outcome. His campaign signs read: “Endorsed by President Donald Trump.”
Jack Hoogendyk, who chairs the Republican Party in Marathon County — home to the district’s largest city of Wausau — called Trump’s endorsement “solid gold” in a district where Trump won by 22 percentage points two years ago.
But Ellefson, who hosted a conservative talk radio program in Wausau for five years, isn’t convinced the endorsement carries the same weight it once did.
“I personally would like to believe that voters in the 7th are intelligent enough and critical thinkers and won’t be swayed by a Trump endorsement,” she said. “I’m going to give the voters credit for not being that foolish.”
