Republican Michael Alfonso won the open seat in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, defeating Democrat Fred Clark, according to AP.
AP projected the outcome with 56.1% of the estimated vote counted, Alfonso had 186,035 votes, compared with Clark’s 145,694, according to AP. Those totals remain unofficial.
The result keeps the seat in Republican hands after U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany gave it up to run for governor. Alfonso, 26, is set to become the youngest member of Congress. He is the son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who held the seat before Tiffany.
Alfonso, a former producer on “The Dan Bongino Show” who also worked construction, ran with Trump’s endorsement on an “America First” platform of smaller government, restrictive immigration policy and more young workers in the trades. He supports eliminating the U.S. Department of Education as part of a broader push to return powers to the states.
Clark, 67, a forester, small business owner and former state Assembly member who called himself an “independent Democrat,” emphasized cooperation across party lines and accountability for the Trump administration. The candidates differed over the role of government in the region’s economy: Clark proposed a “New Northwoods” plan of federal support for farmers, loggers, manufacturers and tourism, while Alfonso argued residents make better decisions with their own money. That contrast ran through their October debate.
The 7th is Wisconsin’s largest district, covering roughly 18,000 square miles across 26 counties in northern and central Wisconsin. It has elected Republicans since Duffy won it in 2010, and Tiffany carried it with 63.6% in 2024. Alfonso won a five-way Republican primary in August with 48% of the vote.
Alfonso will take office on Jan. 3, 2027.
