“I don’t think out-of-state money should force an opinion on our district. It’s just sketchy” – Iron County GOP Chairman Tanner Hiller
Former Marine/businessman Kevin Hermening and Iron County GOP Chair Tanner Hiller are slamming 7th congressional candidate Michael Alfonso for skipping the Iron County GOP’s debate this week in order to attend a Washington D.C. fundraiser held at the offices of BGR Group, a national lobbying firm that represents transportation interests.
It’s the second local GOP debate that Sean Duffy’s son-in-law Alfonso, 26, has skipped; he has yet to meet the other candidates in a debate.
“I think it’s an insult to not only the voters and residents in Iron County, but it’s an insult to the district and the state of Wisconsin that you put fundraising above the people you hope to represent,” said Hiller, 31, an Army veteran who, in addition to being the Iron County Republican Party chairman, is a business owner, Mercer firefighter, and county board supervisor. He has not endorsed in the race yet.
“I think the rest of us have been showing up at debates to answer voters’ questions and, while we’ve been doing that, he (Alfonso), chose, at least this time, to attend a lobbyist event instead,” responded Hermening, a former hostage in Iran who has served as Marathon County GOP chair and as School Board president. He is one of four GOP candidates competing for the Republican nomination. The district is Tom Tiffany’s congressional seat in northern Wisconsin.
“Facing the people who you want to represent should frankly always come first,” Hermening said. “It’s about priorities, and the people from the district deserve to hear directly from all of us asking for their vote.”
Hiller indicated that he got his start in politics helping Sean Duffy, so he wasn’t predisposed against Alfonso, a former podcast producer, on the front end. Duffy previously worked for BGR, a massive lobbying group with many prominent clients. They include transportation interests and companies involved with railroads, gambling, pharmaceuticals, Delta Air Lines, electric utilities, and more. Duffy’s involvement in the race, including lending his name to fundraiser invites involving transportation interests, has generated national attention due to his cabinet post.
“Wisconsin congressional candidate Michael Alfonso’s campaign raked in donations from dozens of lobbyists and industry executives in the first quarter of the year, and many of them seem to have one thing in common: they stand to profit from currying favor with Alfonso’s father-in-law, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy,” Politico previously wrote.
Yet, despite that scrutiny, Alfonso didn’t show for the debate in Mercer. But even before that, Hiller was skeptical of his thin resume.
“I was a little turned off from the beginning based on what I saw and his (Alfonso’s) credentials,” Hiller said. “I started out in politics under Sean Duffy, walking in parades with his young children, knocking on doors for Sean Duffy. I have military experience. I’m a business owner. I’m looking at it like, there’s people just like me who have a helluva lot more qualifications to run. I did want to give him a chance, which was part of the reason for the debate, but they just wanted nothing to do with it. I don’t think he can handle himself against the other candidates.”
The comments are a rather stunning rebuke from a county Republican leader in the district Alfonso wants to serve, and it’s not the first one. Previously, Alfonso’s lobbyist money trail was harshly criticized by John Righeimer, the chairman of the Sawyer County GOP. That’s the county where Alfonso currently lives in a home owned by Duffy, per his Wisconsin voter registration.
“As Americans, one of our most sacred advantages and gifts is our vote, the opportunity to actually choose our leaders,” Hermening said. “And if we are asking our voting community for that vote, to give us their sacred vote, you need to do it in person; you need to show up.”
“That isn’t what has happened. I respect that campaigns involve many events but when you skip debates to attend a lobbyist fundraiser riddled with transportation lobbyist interests when your father-in-law is the transportation cabinet secretary, it raises a simple question: Who are you showing up for?” Hermening continues. “Are you showing up for lobbyists? I’m hopeful there will be 26 debates, one in every county. A forum or debate.”
What Does Michael Alfonso Say?
We would contact Alfonso for comment, but his campaign, through a political operative named Max Docksey, told WRN previously that they would not respond to any of our questions. Docksey began his political career working for Duffy, whose campaign committee transferred $1 million to an Alabama-based PAC that is painting Alfonso, who works as a part-time accountant for his local parish (they won’t say whether it’s a paid job) and who has done some construction work, as a working class fighter who will take on the powerful interests in DC.
“This evening, I was proud to stand with our outstanding Wisconsin Congressional delegation in support of GOP state senators, assemblymen, and future governor, Tom Tiffany. November is right around the corner. It’s time to end the infighting, organize, raise resources, and WIN. If we fail to unite, the radical left will Minnesota our Wisconsin. Dial in🔥🇺🇸” Alfonso wrote on his X page.
We asked Tiffany if he is endorsing in the race for his old congressional seat. “No endorsement,” he responded. Alfonso has received endorsements from multiple Wisconsin congressmen and from President Donald Trump.
The primary is in August. Although there are Democrats running, it’s a +27R district, so it’s widely expected that the candidate who wins the Republican primary has the strongest shot of winning. The other Republican candidates are Ashley Furniture official Jessi Ebben and dog musher/non-profit leader Niina Baum. Corporate lawyer Paul Wassgren suspended his campaign before the forum.
It’s a little confusing why Alfonso would pick the DC fundraiser over the Iron County forum. It wasn’t a fundraiser for him. It was a Republican Party of Wisconsin fundraiser in DC hosted by Wisconsin legislative leaders. The fundraiser, which was held at the office of BGR Group at the Homer Building in DC, listed several donation levels, up to $5,000, according to an invitation obtained by Wisconsin Right Now. The invite also listed seven Wisconsin incumbent congressmen and Sen. Ron Johnson as special guests. Alfonso is not listed as a special guest or host. He posted a picture with some of the congressmen. The other politicians did not skip a debate in a contested GOP primary in their home districts to attend, though, to be clear. Furthermore, Congress is in session, so those incumbent politicians have a reason to be in DC this week.
Tanner Hiller Says He Was Told: ‘The President Endorsed Candidate Does Not Need to Do Debates’
The Iron County GOP’s debate, which was held on April 22, was attended by Hermening, Ebben, and Baum.
Wisconsin Right Now obtained photos showing an empty chair with Alfonso’s name on it. How many people attended the Iron County debate? “40-50 in person, including state representatives, over 400 online, I don’t know how many on WJFW Newswatch 12, or Wisconsin public radio,” the party wrote on Facebook.
“Michael Alfonso did not show up. I didn’t expect him to. They were pretty clear that he was not going to attend,” said Hiller.
“Initially, I was told that he was not going to attend because the president-endorsed candidate does not need to do debates,” he said, claiming that the comment was made by political operative Jim Miller. “I personally talked to him (Miller) on the phone. Later on, he gave me an official reason that he (Alfonso) had to meet with the congressional delegation.” Miller was paid by Duffy’s campaign committee through at least December.
“How we campaign as candidates is an indication of how we will represent the people of WI-7, and I have proven I am not afraid to show up in all 26 counties and answer directly to the people I’m working to serve,” Jessi Ebben wrote on Facebook, sharing a photo from the debate. “Last night in Mercer, I answered the tough questions and explained why my experience makes me the only option to represent the 7th Congressional District in Congress.”
Alfonso issued a press release before the debate saying he’s willing to attend a single debate hosted only by a narrow list of mainstream media television stations. He wrote that he is “eager to participate in a debate and invite my fellow primary candidates to join me.” He added, “Our team would be happy to coordinate further should these outlets wish to host.”
Asked about Alfonso’s comments, Ebben told WRN, “As we were the first campaign to call for debates and forums across the district, we welcome any opportunity to debate. Voters from all 26 counties, no matter how small, deserve the opportunity to ask the tough questions and hear from all candidates. We look forward to our debate this Wednesday in Iron County, and we hope Michael changes his mind and decides to show up!” But, of course, he didn’t.
Baum told WRN of Alfonso’s debate press release: “No real comment at this time other than I hope to see him at the upcoming debates that are already scheduled.”
“He skipped Price county, skipped ours,” Hiller said of Alfonso. He’s suspicious that a televised debate won’t happen, either. “I saw he put out that he wants to host a debate on his terms with liberal media outlets. He’s not going to do it. He will just push that off. I would say that he has no business representing us in Congress.”
‘Be Honest, Be Upfront’
“I talked to Michael a few times, and I do think that he’s a good kid, I really do,” added Hiller. “I think his father-in-law, his campaign, started off the campaign on a bad note. I think they should have run the campaign based on Michael Alfonso and not his father-in-law, don’t make things up, be honest, be upfront, and people would have taken him more seriously.”
Of Alfonso, he added, “I personally have not run into a single person who said they are supporting him.” He called the lobbyist donations in Alfonso’s campaign finance reports “sketchy. I don’t think out-of-state money should force an opinion on our district. It’s just sketchy.” Hermening has said he is self-funding. Ebben has received campaign donations from top conservative donors like Diane Hendricks, Liz Uihlein, and Eric Hovde
Alfonso’s initial campaign finance reports showed that he raised more than $50,000 from registered lobbyists. He raised more than $60,000 from individuals who hold senior roles in financial services. Nearly half of his PAC donations came from transportation industry PACs, including Delta Airlines, roadbuilders, General Motors, and Lockheed Martin, which gets millions of dollars in Transportation Department contracts, according to Politico and FEC reports. Alfonso raised nearly $150,000 from donors who live outside Wisconsin.
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