DALLAS —
Two generations ago, Michael Alfonso’s grandparents came to America from Cuba — now, Alfonso is running for Congress in a safely Republican district to succeed Rep. Tom Tiffany (R., Wis.). For Alfonso, the horrors of socialism, and of the communism that it ushers in, are personal.
“When I hear about socialism, my eyes roll,” Alfonso told the Washington Reporter in an interview at the first-ever midterm Republican National Convention (RNC). “That’s the one-year stage before full-blown communism. That’s what we’re preaching, and in places like New York City, I can believe that it’s happening. Look, I’m a Midwesterner; I’m not shocked.”
“But,” Alfonso noted, socialism is finding a foothold even in America’s heartland. “In Wisconsin, one of the leading candidates for governor on the Democratic side, Francesca Hong, is an avowed socialist. She wanted to see police abolished. She hates Culvers — which, for anyone that doesn’t know, is our amazing fast food joint in the Midwest. And she hates Thanksgiving. That’s how radical these people are on the left. And the guy that won that race, David Crowley, he doesn’t differ much from her, and that’s not me saying that. Those are his own words.”
Alfonso, who at 26 would be one of the youngest members of Congress next year, said that he is not seeing a growing appetite for socialism among young voters that he meets on the campaign trail. Instead, he said, “what I’m seeing is that Gen Z is politically fluid, and the polls are showing that nearly 50 percent of Gen Z doesn’t identify with either party.”
Alfonso noted that one of the last messages that Charlie Kirk had for the American people before he was murdered was that “young people, while they voted for President [Donald] Trump in 2024, they’re politically fluid and they can go either way. If we don’t deliver the America First agenda, and bring down the cost of homes so that they can afford homes, and make it so that they can get jobs to support a family, they’re going to vote for these radical communists, and that’s what we saw with Zohran Mamdani.”
In Wisconsin’s 7th District, Alfonso said that the most important issues has been Trump’s tariffs. “The biggest thing happening in the 7th District is the tariffs,” he said. “We’re a massive manufacturing district. We’re one of the largest manufacturing districts per capita in the entire country, and with Trump’s tariffs, they’ve actually seen so much demand that they’re struggling to meet it. It’s a great problem to have, and that’s why I’m so excited about Trump starting the Foundry School, making it so that Americans can fill these roles. We can do it. Young people are excited to get into the workforce and show their value. That’s why it’s so important to also marry those policies with the deportations that President Trump has been focusing on.”
But there are other issues in Trump’s affordability agenda that Alfonso thinks will help Republicans win the midterms. “The Working Families’ Tax Cuts are bringing in $10,000 a year more to working class families in Wisconsin,” he said. “Trump is delivering results. Same with Speaker Mike Johnson. With basically a one-seat majority, they’re actually delivering for the American people, and that’s why it’s so important that we win these midterms. We don’t want to let the radical leftists, these communists, take over our country and destroy the last two years of President Trump’s term in office.”
Alfonso and his family have been the first-hand beneficiaries of one of Trump’s signature policies geared towards affordability: Trump Rx. “It actually does affect me and my wife,” Alfonso explained. “She just had a baby, so we’ve been way too involved with the healthcare system lately. Everything is crazy expensive. President Trump is taking some massive steps here to bring down the cost of everyday healthcare. In my district, the average voting age is 50 and up. This Trump Rx plan that is all about bringing down the cost of medication for everyone across the United States, addresses that. They’re feeling it right in their pocketbooks, and that’s one of the big reasons why I’m confident that Republicans will actually hold the House in the midterms.”
Another of Trump’s policies, to index capital gains on home sales to inflation, is one that Alfonso views as “interesting”; Alfonso even said that he wants “no capital gains” when a single family is the one flipping a home.
“When we talk about capital gains, I would like to work with the president to make sure that single flippers, that’s what I call them, where they’re not flipping 50 homes a year, or 200 homes a year, like these private equity firms are,” he said. “When it’s a single family flipping these homes, I want no capital gains. That shouldn’t be what we’re about here in America. One of the reasons why the housing stock is so horrible in the United States is because no one can afford to flip these homes because of the capital gains tax.”
Should Alfonso win, as expected, he will replace Tiffany in Wisconsin’s 7th District, but he will also replace Rep. Maxwell Frost (D., Fla.) as one of the youngest members of Congress. Alfonso told the Reporter that Frost is lying about a key part of his biography.
Frost “says he’s a member of Gen Z, but in order to be a member of Gen Z, you have to be born this century,” Alfonso said. “I would be the first congressman elected who was born this century.”
“Maxwell Frost is a millennial, and he sure acts like it,” Alfonso said.
Below is a transcript of our interview with Michael Alfonso, lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
Michael, you are running for Congress in Wisconsin’s 7th District. Tell me why it’s so important for you to come here to the RNC.
Michael Alfonso:
I am here in Dallas because President Trump had the brilliant idea of doing a midterm convention. Frankly, I’m shocked that no one else has thought of this before, to drive turnout for the midterms. Maybe that’s why the party in power loses every single time. Getting people out here, getting the grassroots energized, is the key to winning in states all across the country.
Washington Reporter:
How is his agenda playing out in Wisconsin statewide, and in Wisconsin’s 7th District specifically?
Michael Alfonso:
The Working Families’ Tax Cuts are bringing in $10,000 a year more to working class families in Wisconsin. Trump is delivering results. Same with Speaker Mike Johnson. With basically a one-seat majority, they’re actually delivering for the American people, and that’s why it’s so important that we win these midterms. We don’t want to let the radical leftists, these communists, take over our country and destroy the last two years of President Trump’s term in office.
Washington Reporter:
That communism and the socialism you were just talking about is personal for your family. Can you tell me about that?
Michael Alfonso:
My grandparents came to this country from Cuba; when I hear about socialism, my eyes roll. That’s the one-year stage before full-blown communism. That’s what we’re preaching, and in places like New York City, I can believe that it’s happening. Look, I’m a Midwesterner; I’m not shocked. But in Wisconsin, one of the leading candidates for governor on the Democratic side, Francesca Hong, is an avowed socialist. She wanted to see police abolished. She hates Culvers — which, for anyone that doesn’t know, is our amazing fast food joint in the Midwest. And she hates Thanksgiving. That’s how radical these people are on the left. And the guy that won that race, David Crowley, he doesn’t differ much from her, and that’s not me saying that. Those are his own words.
Washington Reporter:
David Crowley is running against Tom Tiffany, who you’re running to succeed in Congress. Tell me what Tom Tiffany’s legacy has been in Wisconsin’s 7th District so far.
Michael Alfonso:
Tom Tiffany is a rock star. He’s been my congressman since 2020. He’s amazing, and frankly, my father-in-law actually held the seat before Tom Tiffany, and I always give Sean a hard time, and I say that ‘Tom Tiffany actually had a better voting record than you did,’ and he always retorts with how it was a much tougher district. But Tom is an exceptional leader. He knows all about Wisconsin and what the people there care about. They want to see lower energy costs. That’s bringing back energy independence here in the United States. They want to see a cheaper cost of living, and for the young people, they want to be able to afford a home. That’s what Tom Tiffany’s talking about. His opponent, David Crowley, is County Executive for Milwaukee. For those of you who don’t know Milwaukee, it’s one of the most crime-ridden cities in our state, and he let healthcare benefits relapse for the city workers there. Now he wants a promotion to be governor to do what? Let the healthcare benefits relapse for everyone across the state?
Washington Reporter:
You were mentioning Culver’s. What is your go-to order there?
Michael Alfonso:
The mushroom and Swiss double basket. It is amazing. It’s just the right amount of grease, and I recommend it for anyone.
Washington Reporter:
I’m 30, you’re 26. There’s a sense that young voters love socialism. Has that been something that you’ve experienced on the campaign trail?
Michael Alfonso:
No. What I’m seeing is that Gen Z is politically fluid, and the polls are showing that nearly 50 percent of Gen Z doesn’t identify with either party; on this day that marks the one-year anniversary of when Charlie Kirk was murdered, it’s important to remember the last thing that he was really trying to emphasize to the American people is that young people, while they voted for President Trump in 2024, they’re politically fluid and they can go either way. If we don’t deliver the America First agenda, and bring down the cost of homes so that they can afford homes, and make it so that they can get jobs to support a family, they’re going to vote for these radical communists, and that’s what we saw with Zohran Mamdani.
Washington Reporter:
One of the things that President Trump has done to address the home affordability crisis is he wants to index capital gains on home sales to inflation with the theory that this will help lower the cost of housing. Is that an idea that you think will help people in Wisconsin?
Michael Alfonso:
I think it’s really interesting. When we talk about capital gains, I would like to work with the president to make sure that single flippers, that’s what I call them, where they’re not flipping 50 homes a year, or 200 homes a year, like these private equity firms are. When it’s a single family flipping these homes, I want no capital gains. That shouldn’t be what we’re about here in America. One of the reasons why the housing stock is so horrible in the United States is because no one can afford to flip these homes because of the capital gains tax.
Washington Reporter:
Is Trump Rx something that you’ve seen help already in Wisconsin? It may not be for yourself and your family, because you guys are on the younger side. But is that something that has been impacting seniors in Wisconsin 7th District?
Michael Alfonso:
Yes. And it actually does affect me and my wife. She just had a baby, so we’ve been way too involved with the healthcare system lately. Everything is crazy expensive. President Trump is taking some massive steps here to bring down the cost of everyday healthcare. In my district, the average voting age is 50 and up. This Trump Rx plan that is all about bringing down the cost of medication for everyone across the United States, addresses that. They’re feeling it right in their pocketbooks, and that’s one of the big reasons why I’m confident that Republicans will actually hold the House in the midterms.
Washington Reporter:
As a 26-year-old, you don’t remember the events of September 11, but do you have any thoughts on what that has meant for where our country is going moving forward?
Michael Alfonso:
I always like to bring this up. My wife, who’s four months older than me, says her first memory was 9/11. I don’t believe it at all. 9/11 was a crazy time for our country, and it led to so much. It led to some bad things like the PATRIOT Act, which was horrible. Surveillance of American citizens should never happen under any circumstance. When we look back at 9/11, we need to remember what this country went through, but also what happened afterwards. Americans were actually unified for a time. They came together. It’s a long way down the road, but something I’d like to see is that if the Democrats give up socialism, I’m happy to work with them. We can have discussions about a 1 percent tax increase or a decrease, but when we’re talking about the government seizing private assets, which they’re actually talking about in California by having a an asset tax, it’s ridiculous. We can’t negotiate with that.
Washington Reporter:
Your youngest counterpart on the Democratic side would be Maxwell Frost. I understand you’ve had an interesting series of either interactions or thoughts about him.
Michael Alfonso:
I’ve never interacted with him, thankfully, but he’s lying. He says he’s a member of Gen Z, but in order to be a member of Gen Z, you have to be born this century. I would be the first congressman elected who was born this century. Maxwell Frost is a millennial, and he sure acts like it.
Washington Reporter:
Pfizer is a company that launched a big expansion in Wisconsin under President Trump. Have there been other big investments or small investments in terms of mom and pop stores that you’ve seen because of the Working Families tax cuts you were talking about at the beginning?
Michael Alfonso:
The biggest thing happening in the 7th District is the tariffs. We’re a massive manufacturing district. We’re one of the largest manufacturing districts per capita in the entire country, and with Trump’s tariffs, they’ve actually seen so much demand that they’re struggling to meet it. It’s a great problem to have, and that’s why I’m so excited about Trump starting the Foundry School, making it so that Americans can fill these roles. We can do it. Young people are excited to get into the workforce and show their value. That’s why it’s so important to also marry those policies with the deportations that President Trump has been focusing on.
Washington Reporter:
Michael, thanks for chatting.
