Meet the 26-year-old Republican set to become the youngest member of Congress

The son-in-law of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is on track to become the youngest member of Congress at 26 years old and the first person born in the 2000s to serve in Congress.You just may have never heard of him.Republican congressional candidate Michael Alfonso, who is running for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, told the Washington Examiner in an interview that conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death prompted him to run for office, despite growing up around politics. “There’s really a place for young people to get involved and to really make a difference, but ultimately the defining decision maker was when Charlie Kirk was shot,” Alfonso said.“Within a few weeks, our sitting congressman, Tom Tiffany, who’s running for governor, decided he was going to do just that, run for governor, and I threw my hat in the ring to run for Congress,” he said.Alfonso emerged from a relatively quiet primary field after consolidating endorsements from Duffy, President Donald Trump, and other Republican leaders. He’s the odds-on favorite to win the seat that Duffy once represented.His front-row seat to politics initially colored his views on elected office but eventually influenced his decisions to get in the race.“Their family is amazing,” Alfonso said. “Growing up, seeing all the things that they went through, that was actually one of the reasons why I didn’t want to run for anything. I mean, running for office is really hard, especially on a family, which has always been one of my biggest goals is to have a big family.”Alfonso said that Duffy has been “hands off” with much of his campaign, though he received a boost via a $1 million transfer from Duffy’s former campaign account to a super PAC supporting Alfonso’s bid, according to multiple reports.But claims of nepotism are toothless, he insists.“Sean never brought it up to me,” Alfonso said of his congressional bid. “I brought it up to him, and I remember distinctly, he said, ‘Oh boy, are you sure about this?’“He understood that I knew Charlie, and that was a big part of this, and he said, ‘If this is what you really want to do, just be ready because you’re going to need to go through two pairs of shoes.’ And I went through four, so I think I did well there,” Alfonso told the Washington Examiner.Alfonso, a former podcast producer, also recalled meeting Trump, saying the two sat and talked for a while, eventually scoring an endorsement from the president.Alfonso emphasized two top policy priorities: healthcare and energy. He said both fall under the broader issue of affordability and would be priorities if he is elected to Congress.“We need cheaper healthcare here in the U.S. Also, cheaper prices at the pumps,” he said. “I think Republicans actually have the solution to this: drilling here, we need to be American energy independent and dominant. We need to be exporting, we have so much. Our nation is so rich in natural resources, but we need leaders who are actually going to make laws and regulations that empower the businesses to make everything more affordable.”Despite being in a position to represent a solidly Republican seat, Alfonso told the Washington Examiner he is supportive of winding down the war in Iran, a sign of the war’s deep unpopularity amid soaring energy costs.“We need to start looking for off-ramps in Iran and making sure that the Strait of Hormuz is open so that we don’t have rising energy costs,” Alfonso said.FOR SOME TEXAS REPUBLICANS, DEFEATING JAMES TALARICO MATTERS MORE THAN ELECTING KEN PAXTON“But I also want to point at another conflict going on right now that is causing high energy prices, the war in Ukraine,” he said. “We need to make sure that all of these wars are coming to an end.”Alfonso will face Democrat Fred Clark in next week’s election for a seat Trump won with 60.4% of the vote in 2024.