MADISON – Two of the nation’s wealthiest GOP donors are helping to fund the campaigns of two candidates vying for the Republican nomination in the state’s 7th Congressional District.
Dick Uihlein donated $1 million to the Northwoods Future PAC, which is supporting Michael Alfonso, while his wife, Liz Uihlein, donated $1 million to the Northwoods PAC in support of Jessi Ebben, according to documents from the Federal Elections Commission.
So far, the Northwoods Future PAC has spent nearly $1.6 million on Alfonso’s campaign, while the Northwoods PAC has spent about $28,000 on mailers supporting Ebben, records show.
Neither the Ebben nor the Alfonso campaign responded for comments about the donations.
Alfonso is the son-in-law of Transportation Secretary and former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, and has already received the backing of President Donald Trump.
Ebben, who works in the manufacturing industry, ran in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District in 2020 and was defeated in the primary by the district’s current representative, Derrick Van Orden. Ultimately, though, Van Orden was narrowly defeated by former U.S Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat. Van Orden went on to carry the district in 2022.
The Uihleins, who live in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Forest and own Pleasant Prairie-based Uline Corp., have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Republicans but rarely choose to back different candidates. The last time they did so was during the 2022 gubernatorial race, when Liz Uihlein supported Rebecca Kleefisch and Dick Uihlein backed Kevin Nicholson.
Neither of their candidates advanced in the 2022 governor’s primary. Tim Michels ultimately won the primary but lost to Democrat Tony Evers in the general election.
A spokesman for the Uihleins declined to comment when contacted about the donations.
Seven candidates are vying to succeed U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor: Republicans Alfonso, Ebben, Kevin Hermening and Niina Baum, and Democrats Fred Clark, Chris Campbell and Ginger Murray.
Republican Paul Wassgren dropped out of the race last month, after largely self-funding his campaign up to that point.
Both parties feature contested primaries in the district. Tiffany carried the heavily Republican district by more than 25 percentage points in 2024.
Heavy spending is expected in the district, especially from Republicans. Already, Alfonso’s fundraising and connections to Duffy are looming large in the race.
Clark, in a statement, slammed the Republicans for the out-of-state fundraising and the focus on voters they already know will vote for them.
“While the Republican candidates continue showing up in safe spaces to talk to their party faithful, I’ve spent the last seven months talking to voters across the political spectrum,” he said. “The only thing that’s clear is that people across northern Wisconsin are hungry for change.”
Baum, who is focusing on a grassroots campaign, also criticized the donations.
“I think people are tired of all the money pouring into campaigns from wealthy special interests. It’s ultimately driving the division and polarization in politics,” she said in a statement. “It also makes people question where a candidate’s loyalties lie. I pledged not to take any PAC money because I want the voters to know exactly who I represent, and it’s them.”
The 7th Congressional District is the state’s largest in terms of land and covers much of central and northern Wisconsin.
Voters will head to the polls on Aug. 11 for the primary elections and Nov. 3 for the general election.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X @SchulteLaura.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Congressional race heats up with Uihlein’s splitting their cash
Reporting by Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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