President Donald Trump’s endorsement passed a high-profile test in northern Wisconsin on Tuesday as Michael Alfonso fought through attacks from inside his own party to win the Republican nomination for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.
Alfonso, the 26-year-old son-in-law of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, defeated four Republican rivals seeking the seat Duffy once held. Local radio station WSAU reported that Alfonso had 48% of the vote when outlets called the race around 9:30 p.m., with Kevin Hermening in second place at 29%.
The victory capped a primary that became about more than who would replace outgoing Rep. Tom Tiffany. It also tested whether Trump’s backing could propel a young, first-time candidate past opponents who questioned his experience and accused him of benefiting from his ties to one of the president’s Cabinet secretaries.
Trump put his support behind Alfonso in a July 15 Truth Social post, calling him a “MAGA Warrior” and a young “STAR.”
“It is my Great Honor to endorse MAGA Warrior, Michael Alfonso, a young ‘STAR,’” Trump wrote.
The president praised Alfonso’s connection to Duffy and Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, describing the family as committed supporters of the MAGA movement. Trump also predicted that Alfonso would fight for tax cuts, fewer regulations, American manufacturing, energy production, farmers, border security, veterans and Second Amendment rights.
Trump ended the endorsement with a direct message to voters: “HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
Alfonso placed that endorsement at the center of his campaign. His signs prominently identified him as Trump’s choice, and he appeared with the president during a June roundtable at a farm in Chippewa Falls.
That support did not prevent sharp criticism from other Republicans.
During an April candidate debate Alfonso did not attend, rival Jessi Ebben said voters in the district did not appreciate “nepotism” or a political “red carpet,” according to Wisconsin Public Radio. Hermening used Alfonso’s empty chair as a prop and accused him of becoming “part of the swamp” before even reaching Congress.
Alfonso ultimately overcame those attacks. Speaking after his victory Tuesday night, he argued that Republican voters had delivered a clear message about the direction they wanted their next representative to take.
“This district voted for President Trump three times, and very clearly, that’s what the voters want in this district,” Alfonso told reporters, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
In a separate election-night statement published by WSAU, Alfonso thanked voters and tied his next campaign directly to Trump’s agenda.
“In Congress, I will work with President Trump to make his tax cuts permanent [and] lower costs for Wisconsin families,” Alfonso said. He also promised to oppose the Democratic agenda as the race moves into the general election.
Alfonso has used his personal history to counter questions about his readiness. He said his grandparents fled communist Cuba, that he began working at 14 and that construction jobs helped him graduate from the University of Wisconsin–Madison without debt. He also said his campaign took him more than 60,000 miles across every county in the district.
If elected, Alfonso would follow a family path to Washington. Duffy represented the 7th District from 2011 until resigning in 2019 to focus on his family after learning that one of his children faced health complications. Tiffany won the seat in a May 2020 special election and is leaving the House while running for Wisconsin governor.
The district has remained in Republican hands for 15 years and stretches across a large section of central, northwestern and northern Wisconsin. Wisconsin Public Radio describes it as a solidly Republican district, giving Alfonso a favorable political landscape for November.
His Democratic opponent will be Fred Clark, a former Wisconsin state lawmaker, forester and business owner from Bayfield. Clark’s campaign says it wants to build a “new rural majority” focused on working people and communities rather than traditional right-versus-left politics.
Wisconsin Public Radio reported that Clark wants Congress to challenge Trump on tariffs, foreign policy and environmental issues. Alfonso, by contrast, is running on a promise to work with the president and advance his agenda.
That sets the next phase of the race: a Trump-backed political newcomer seeking to extend Republican control of the district against a Democrat promising to resist key administration policies.
For Trump, Tuesday’s result delivered the immediate answer to the biggest question surrounding the primary. His endorsement survived the Republican infighting—and his chosen candidate is moving on to November.
