Duffy funneled $1M to son-in-law’s bid for Congress in northern Wisconsin

With a huge donation, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is trying to help his son-in-law win a crowded primary for the 7th Congressional District he once represented.

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By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

Sean Duffy — a former Republican congressman from Hayward and the current secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation — funneled $1 million from his campaign committee to a super PAC supporting his son-in-law’s bid for his old congressional seat.

Michael Alfonso, the 26-year-old candidate gunning for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, married Duffy’s daughter, Evita Duffy-Alfonso, in 2022. The district is currently held by U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is vacating it to run for governor. Republicans have won the 7th by wide margins in recent years, increasing the importance of the GOP primary.

Duffy, a married father of nine, left Congress in 2019, saying he needed to focus on family. In Congress, he sat on the House Financial Services Committee, and after he left, he became a financial services lobbyist for BGR Group, a common move for politicians to make a lot of money. He was appointed transportation secretary in 2025.

Duffy has publicly supported his son-in-law in the campaign and has joined him on the trail, including a stop in Wausau in November. Duffy also pushed for a presidential endorsement for the inexperienced politician, an effort that displeased top administration officials, according to reporting from Politico. But it worked. President Donald Trump gave Alfonso his stamp of approval in January.

“The idea of using family connections to get ahead is not a new thing,” said Brendan Glavin, the director of insights for OpenSecrets, a campaign finance watchdog in Washington, D.C. “It’s an age-old thing. And certainly in politics, it’s nothing new.”

Duffy’s support and financial involvement in his son-in-law’s campaign is in plain view, Glavin continued. Voters can decide for themselves how they feel about it.

The financial help has been significant as well. Duffy for Wisconsin, a campaign committee originally created to help him win congressional elections, sent $1 million, or half of its holdings, to Northwoods Future PAC in 2025. That super PAC received another $1 million from billionaire and conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein, the founder and CEO of ULINE. From October to December 2025, Northwoods Future spent more than $1 million, all of which went to supporting Alfonso, according to filings from the Federal Elections Commission. Much of it went to buying advertising. 

The super PAC’s treasurer is listed as Michael Landerfelt and is based in Mountain Brooke, Alabama, according to the FEC. Glavin said about 87 political committees, many of them Republican, are registered in that municipality. That likely means Landerfelt is a professional who provides services to many political committees.

It’s not uncommon for former candidates to keep their campaign accounts active, especially if they plan to run again, Glavin said.

Sometimes cash is left over in a campaign account after an election, Glavin said. Candidates invest that to earn interest for future runs.

Duffy for Wisconsin is an example of this, Glavin noted. FEC records show the secretary’s campaign account had a negative balance in 2021 and 2022, meaning the committee’s managers probably sold an investment at a loss. But in 2023 and 2024, the committee reported earnings of $500,000.

“All that money is from Edward Jones,” Glavin said. “So it’s all from an investment account.”

The bottom line is that Duffy’s campaign account has cash to burn.

But it’s against federal law for a campaign committee to give more than $2,000 per election directly to another candidate. A campaign committee can give unlimited amounts to super PACs though.

The unlimited raising and spending ability of super PACs was unleashed by U.S. Supreme Court cases Buckley v. Valeo, which ruled that money was equivalent to speech, and the more well-known Citizens United v. FEC.

Super PACs don’t directly represent a campaign or a political party, but they can spend the massive contributions they receive from individuals, corporations and unions to support a particular candidate, like Alfonso.

And they are especially helpful for candidates who are new to politics and don’t have an established donor base, Glavin said.

“Super PACs have changed the dynamics of campaigning,” said Glavin. They can help a candidate “get a foot in the door and get their name out there.”

The young candidate’s resume

Alfonso’s campaign website says he put himself through college and received a mathematics degree from UW–Madison. After graduating, the website reads, he worked in construction and poured concrete. He left the state to produce the popular podcast of Dan Bongino, a right-wing political commentator who briefly served as deputy FBI director under the current administration.

Beyond indirect contributions from his father-in-law, Alfonso’s campaign has also drawn support from unlikely donors, including transportation industry lobbyists, who may be seeking to court the federal government’s favor through Duffy and his son-in-law, according to reporting from ProPublica. Contributions include $1,000 from the U.S. Travel Association PAC, $1,000 from the General Motors PAC and $5,000 from the Delta Airlines PAC.

Alfonso is competing with four other Republicans for the nomination: Jessi Ebben, Kevin Hermening, Niina Threlfall-Baum and Paul Wassgren. The primary election is Aug. 11.

Alfonso has also faced scrutiny because congressional candidates are required to live in the state for which they’re running for office. He registered to vote in Florida in October 2024 and re-registered to vote in Wisconsin 10 days before getting Trump’s endorsement in January, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. Alonso listed Duffy’s home address in Hayward, Wisconsin, on his registration form. Wassgren had also voted in Florida through 2024 and didn’t register to vote in Wisconsin until October 2025, three days before he filed his statement of candidacy.

Critics, including John Righeimer, the chair of the Sawyer County Republican Party, has knocked Alfonso’s campaign as one fueled by his high-powered connections rather than his roots in the district, professional experience and political bona fides.

Neither the Alfonso campaign nor Duffy’s press office responded to requests for comment.

The Badger Project is an independent, reader-supported news nonprofit in Wisconsin.