“They are trying to make it a coronation versus competing. If Michael (Alfonso) could win on his own, that would be different. It seems like a machine behind him is force-feeding us someone who is not ready,” – Sawyer Co. GOP Chairman John Righeimer.
The chairman of the Sawyer County Republican Party – the county where Sean Duffy’s son-in-law, Michael Alfonso, now lives – slammed Alfonso’s campaign for taking a stream of transportation lobby money, calling it “sickening.”
In an interview with Wisconsin Right Now, Sawyer County GOP Chairman John Righeimer, who has held the position for five years and is also a county supervisor, said that Alfonso, 26, has “minimal life experience and job experience,” is being pushed by a “machine” that is “force-feeding” his campaign in the 7th congressional district, and “is not ready.” He added, “They are trying to make it a coronation versus competing. I had no idea who he was until this late fall.”
Alfonso’s campaign did not return a request for comment. Although Alfonso said previously that he would give Wisconsin Right Now an interview, the campaign is not responding to requests to set that up.
Although Righeimer is just one county party chair in the large 7th congressional district, where Alfonso is running for Tom Tiffany’s seat, his comments are noteworthy because Sawyer County is where Alfonso now lives. His Wisconsin voter registration says that the former podcast producer lives in the Hayward area in a home still owned by Sean and Rachel Duffy.
“It’s sickening. He’s using the money Sean raised back when he was running for Congress,” Righeimer said on Friday, referring to $1 million that Duffy’s campaign committee funneled into a PAC boosting Alfonso. “He’s (Duffy’s) using his connections as transportation secretary to get Delta Airlines money. I think it’s disgusting. What do these people want in return? Everyone knows this is what happens in politics, but now it’s happening in our backyard. It’s swampy. It’s roadbuilders, airlines, anybody connected to transportation.” Duffy has been prominently listed as a guest on Alfonso’s fundraiser invites, including at least one featuring lobbyists, and he was in Wisconsin for another fundraiser for his daughter’s husband this week.
Alfonso’s campaign finance reports show 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. Trump-endorsed Alfonso’s campaign told Politico that he has also earned support from “grassroots” and other Wisconsin leaders, including congressmen. From Alfonso’s FEC report:
But the grassroots leader of his own county party is far from convinced.
“Early on, when this discussion about Michael running came about, I said, ‘This is ridiculous, a 25-year-old is not prepared for this; why doesn’t he run for a local board or even Assembly, and even then that might be too early.” He said people remarked, “that’s beneath Sean and Rachel’s paygrade. It’s so repulsive to me.”
“I have nothing against Michael Alfonso as a person; I’ve met him briefly. He’s a sharp kid who probably has a bright future, but it’s way too early for him to be running for this type of position,” Righeimer continued. “I don’t like the campaign that seems to be force-feeding this on the district through the Duffy connections and the Trump endorsement. They are trying to make it a coronation vs. competing. If Michael could win on his own, that would be different. It seems like a machine behind him is force-feeding us someone who is not ready.”
Righeimer doesn’t believe that Alfonso has been very clear about questions such as, “What do you do for a living? What has your experience been in the job world? Where are you living, and how are you paying for the house? These are not really gotcha questions. If he were 10 years older, it would be very easy for him to answer. It would be better if he would establish roots, run for a local board or state Assembly. Be around for a little bit, but for some reason, it had to happen now for them. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense for me.”
He continued, “What other place in this world would you say, ‘We are going to hire the kid who has minimal life experience and job experience because of his age, which is not his fault, when we have (Kevin) Hermening, (Paul) Wassgren, and even Jessi Ebben for that.’ It baffles.” He acknowledged, “The Trump endorsement helps him greatly. It’s gold. More so for your 24-7 Fox viewer, where Trump is a lifestyle for him.”
But Righeimer doesn’t think the Trump endorsement has sealed the deal for Alfonso, as evidenced by all of the candidates still in the race, including Hermening, who entered the race after the endorsement and who is a former Iranian hostage, former Marathon County GOP chair and runs an investment business.
And then there’s Ebben, Ashley Furniture government/public affairs manager, who raised money from conservative heavyweights like Liz Uihlein, Diane Hendricks, Club for Growth, and Eric Hovde. Wassgren and Hermening are self-funding.
Righeimer says he supports Wassgren, a corporate lawyer, although he acknowledged that others in the party are divided, Wassgren is the chairman of the neighboring Ashland County GOP, which he helped resurrect after it went dormant. Righmeier said his second choice would be Hermening. He praised both Wassgren and Hermening, who are both self-funding businessmen.
Who Is Funding the Other Candidates?
Wassgren announced this week that he was committed to putting $1 million more of his own money into the race. Wassgren’s campaign finance reports show he ended the year with almost $1.6 million, of which $1.5 million was a loan to himself. He received some funds from individuals, including a few from out of state. See them here.
The $1 million is in addition to the $1.6 million already in his coffers.
Hermening is self-funding and has said he will put more than $1 million of his own money into the race.
Ebben raised more than $366,000. See her donors here. She has raised money from Ashley Furniture executives and others, including, as noted, prominent conservative donors Liz Uihlein and Diane Hendricks, former U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde, and the Club for Growth.
The fifth candidate is dog musher/non-profit organizer Niina Baum. She entered too recently to have a campaign finance report. Although Baum is positioning as a “moderate” Republican, old X posts of hers show her calling Donald Trump an “idiot” and making a pro-abortion aligned comment. She has refused to answer accusations that she posted a pro-ICE protest graphic or to answer questions on where she stands on the issues.
When Did Michael Alfonso Join the Sawyer County GOP?
To be clear, we contacted Righeimer; he didn’t reach out to Wisconsin Right Now. We initially contacted Righeimer to verify or dispel accusations that are flying around behind the scenes about alleged questions over Alfonso’s county party membership as the 7th district caucus endorsement vote looms on Saturday, March 14, in Neillsville. Righeimer confirmed that he has questions and then made the comments about Alfonso’s campaign.
“I didn’t believe Alfonso was a member of the Sawyer County party,” he said, noting that candidates who aren’t county party members don’t qualify for the caucus endorsement. Not winning the endorsement or the caucus choosing not to endorse at all would be a big problem for Alfonso, considering the firepower he’s brought, as well as the money. The $1 million (at least) that his father-in-law’s campaign committee funneled into an Alabama-based PAC has pummeled northern Wisconsin with ads painting Alfonso as a working-class fighter who will take on corrupt Washington politicians.
Righeimer said that Jim Miller, a GOP activist who is the Sawyer County Republican Party treasurer, then told him that Alfonso joined the Sawyer County GOP on January 2, claiming that Alfonso paid for the membership in cash.
“I said, ‘That’s kind of odd. How come nobody knew about this?'” Righeimer, the county party chair, recalled. He said that he asked Miller to provide proof “that he (Alfonso) indeed joined with cash, but he (Miller) left me a voicemail appalled that I would question his integrity and said his word should be good enough. So there we have it.” Miller is Duffy’s former outreach director and was on his payroll at least through Dec. 15, 2025, when he was paid by Duffy’s campaign committee for “administrative consulting.” We wrote and asked if he wanted to comment on Righeimer’s remarks or on Alfonso’s candidacy, and he did not respond.
We asked Hermening, who is former Marathon County GOP chair and still on that board, whether Alfonso ever belonged to the Marathon County GOP party, as that is where Alfonso was raised. He said, “No, never.”
The 7th district caucus comprises all 20-plus county GOP parties in the massive northern Wisconsin congressional district.
Righeimer compared the president’s endorsement of Alfonso to his endorsement of businessman Tim Michels in the GOP primary over former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. “The Trump endorsement is kind of heavy-handed, that we’ve got to get behind this kid because he’s related to the Duffys,” he said.
Alfonso grew up in the Wausau area. After high school, he lived in Madison (for college), Wausau (during COVID), Hayward (briefly), and Florida, where he and his wife, Evita Alfonso-Duffy, worked with Dan Bongino. He last voted in Wisconsin in 2023 and voted in the 2024 presidential election in Florida, skipping the presidential primary vote there, according to Florida election officials.
Righeimer owns an energy consulting practice.
How the Caucus Vote Will Unfold
Righeimer explained that there is also debate behind the scenes about how the caucus endorsement vote will unfold. He said there are supposed to be multiple rounds, with the lowest candidate falling off each round until one is left standing. Then, that person will get the endorsement.
Righeimer alleged that some people behind the scenes are “trying to thwart it” by urging the caucus to go to a no-endorsement scenario instead. He didn’t name them. “Phone calls are being made. There may be an attempt to rile people up with a motion from the floor.” He is not able to attend the caucus, however, the votes are proportional, so the vote totals get extrapolated onto the total number of delegates each county party will bring to the state convention in May. More populous counties, like Hermening’s Marathon County base, get more delegates. According to Righeimer, people are also trying to get the endorsement vote changed to a single round, where a person would need at least 51% to be endorsed.
“If you limit it to one round with five candidates, it’s very unlikely someone gets it. It acts the same as a no endorsement,” he said. He believes there is concern in the Alfonso camp that he might not prevail in the multiple vote scenario, but he said that Alfonso may run strong in areas like Hudson as well as Wausau, where he is from.
Meanwhile, Alfonso was on X claiming, “Tomorrow is the 7th District GOP caucus, and we’re expecting up to 40 inches of snow! To all the delegates—stay safe out there. The roads are already getting sketchy, but hey… that’s just March in the Northwoods!🌲❄️” However, the Weather Channel forecast for Neillsville was predicting “a few flurries or snow showers possible” in the morning, when the caucus occurs.
Asked why he supports Wassgren, 49, Righeimer said, “I support Paul because he has the best experience and wherewithal to help the 7th district to bring back economic development. He’s been involved in economic opportunity zones; like Kevin (Hermening), he’s a businessman, he’s an attorney, super smart.”
Righeimer said he walked away from his first meeting with Wassgren, and everyone there said, “Oh my God, that guy is smart. Wow. Holy cow. We need to get this guy.” Asked about Wassgren spending long periods outside the district (he lived in LA, among other locations), Righeimer said, “I look at it as if, if I am running this thing and looking for the CEO to run it, I want a nationwide search. But I appreciate Kevin being homegrown too. It’s an issue, but it’s low on my list.” He said Wassgren was born in Ashland (his grandparents ran a beloved cheese factory there), and spent summers there after his parents divorced, before recently moving back for good.
He added, “Michael should be running in Florida and Jersey,” as the latter is where the Duffys now live.
Righeimer praised Hermening, 66, as well, calling him a “sharp guy, a businessman. I like that he has been part of a much bigger county party. I like what he’s done as a hostage (in Iran in the 1970s), and the courage it took to get through that. I like Kevin Hermening a lot.”
Confusion Over the Rules
Righeimer added that he was on the rules committee for the 7th district caucus. He said that a rule was made recently that a candidate has to be a member in good standing with their county party to be eligible for the caucus endorsement. However, he said that he thought the rule held that you have to be a member for 30 days at least to qualify, but now the 30-day element is not in the rule, so someone could sign up the day before the caucus and be eligible.
“The rule I thought we had passed was that you had to be a member in good standing with the county party 30 days prior to the district caucus,” he said. “That’s not how the rule was written. It could have been an error. I don’t want to say it was nefarious.”
Asked to explain why he was not clear on that when he was part of the deliberations over the rule, Righeimer said, “I’m confused too. I called two other people on the rules committee. One was confused. The other said, ‘I don’t know how that happened.’ I walked away for a minute from the meeting.”
The 7th district caucus chairman, Matthew Rust, who is St. Croix County GOP Chair, said:
Regarding the Endorsement process, our District Constitution says:
“Article IV, Section 3. In the even-numbered years, the caucus may endorse by a majority vote a candidate for the office of Representative to Congress from the Seventh Congressional District of Wisconsin upon nomination of one or more candidates from the floor. Balloting for endorsement shall be by roll call vote if more than one name is placed in nomination.”
“The Constitution does not address a 30-day membership requirement to be endorsed. In addition, there is a Caucus Rules Committee that creates a set of Rules each year that the Delegates either approve or amend, and then adopt, which govern the proceedings,” he said. “So at this point, the Rules are only proposed and aren’t binding because they haven’t yet been adopted, and speaking to any particular items is irrelevant until the Rules are actually adopted.”
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