It’s safe to say that the five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Tom Tiffany’s congressional seat probably don’t disagree on the issues much today, save for dog musher Niina Baum, whose old X posts reveal that she called Donald Trump an “idiot” and posted a pro-abortion message.
But the rest of the candidates – Kevin Hermening, Paul Wassgren, Jessi Ebben, and Michael Alfonso – have sounded very conservative on the campaign trail.
However, Alfonso has now split with the other GOP candidates on a key issue of importance to the conservative base and business community: The Davis-Bacon Act, which mandates a federal prevailing wage. Wassgren, Ebben, and Hermening are all in favor of repealing Davis-Bacon. Alfonso is “generally” pro Davis-Bacon.
We’re told the issue was a key factor in U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s victory in his Republican primary years ago in the same district Up North. “The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) require payment of local prevailing wages to construction workers performing work on federally funded construction projects,” the U.S. Department of Labor explains.
Labor unions want Davis-Bacon protected. Conservative groups have sought its appeal. “The Davis-Bacon Act impedes competition and artificially inflates construction costs.1 Congress must repeal this harmful wage requirement,” wrote the Republican Policy Committee. “The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts that repealing the DBA would save the federal government $12 billion in outlays from 2019 to 2028.”
We asked each candidate for their position on the Davis-Bacon Act. Here is what they said:
Michael Alfonso
“I am generally pro Davis-Bacon; however, I think there should be a dollar threshold so that small municipalities aren’t priced out by Davis-Bacon. Also, I’m very anti PLAs.” (Note: the campaign never responded about the interview request noted in the text.)
Jessi Ebben
“The repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act would be a win for families and small businesses. The prevailing wage stifles small businesses’ ability to compete for local government contracts, and repealing it would help ensure that our taxpayer dollars are used to pay fair-market rates for construction projects.”
Kevin Hermening
Hermening said he supports repealing the Davis-Bacon Act. “I always supported repeal of the prevailing wage and the Davis-Bacon Act. I’ve been very consistent on this.”
Paul Wassgren
Paul Wassgren supports repealing the Davis-Bacon Act. “Prevailing wage is an anti-free market scheme that puts special interests ahead of hardworking taxpayers. I am 100% in support of repealing the federal prevailing wage.”
Niina Baum
Awaiting response, but in fairness, we wrote her late. We will add her comment in if it’s received.
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