Paul Nehlen announces he will run against Rep. Ryan, again

Janesville Gazette (WI)

June 16--TOWN OF DELAVAN -- Paul Nehlen, a staunch backer of President Donald Trump, announced Friday he will again challenge Rep. Paul Ryan for the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District.

Nehlen has accused Ryan of undermining the president.

"Millions of Americans voted for President Trump, and they expect Paul Ryan to work to repeal Obamacare, end bad, job-killing trade deals, close the border and back the President's strong, America-first agenda. But that hasn't happened," Nehlen said in an emailed news release Friday.

Nehlen, town of Delavan, says he has a background in manufacturing and business management. He lost to Ryan in last summer's Republican primary, 84 percent to 16 percent.

In the announcement, Nehlen said he is "waging the battle for Wisconsin's workers, against the refugee resettlement racket, and lends his voice to the battle for America's values."

Nehlen showed fundraising potential last year, raising $1.5 million in his failed bid for the nomination, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Ryan already has $9.4 million in his campaign fund for 2018.

Nehlen recently produced a film called "Hijrah: Radical Islam's Global Invasion," in which he suggests Muslim immigrants are part of a plan to impose their culture on non-Muslims in the West.

"If America is to survive, every right-minded, working American must learn what we're up against in Islam's war against the West," Nehlen said in an email asking people to buy the film.

Asked if Nehlen could be described as alt-right, a spokesman sent the following words he said could be attributed to Nehlen:

"Donald Trump's America is comprised of a wide swath of reasonable working folks from all walks of life who are tired of being told that advocating for affordable health care means they want to push granny off a cliff, or that securing the border, enforcing the rule of law and defunding Paul Ryan's Muslim refugee resettlement means they're bigots. That very idea that these reasonable issue stances are somehow bigoted is the reason all of Donald Trump's deplorables have rejected the mainstream media's bogus narratives."

Nehlen would face Ryan in the primary election Aug. 14, 2018.

Among Democrats, only David Yankovich, who reportedly has moved from Ohio to Kenosha, has declared he will run for the 1st District seat.

Randy Bryce of Caledonia, a union and party activist and failed candidate for state legislative offices, has garnered positive reviews from journalists and others who believe he will run, but he has yet to declare.

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