Paul Nehlen
| Paul Nehlen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paul Frederick Nehlen, III[1] May 9, 1969 [1] Ohio[2] |
| Residence | Delavan, Walworth County Wisconsin, USA[2] |
| Occupation | Executive at a water filtration and purification company[2] |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Divorced (2) Gabriela Nehlen |
Paul Frederick Nehlen, III (born May 9, 1969),[1] is a Wisconsin businessman, entrepreneur, and author who is challenging the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Paul Ryan of Janesville, in Wisconsin's 1st congressional district Republican primary election on August 9, 2016.[3] Nehlen was born and raised in Ohio and has been a current Wisconsin resident since 2014.[2] Between 2002 and 2014, Nehlen voted in four different states of residence.[4]
Nehlen has held management positions in both foreign and domestic companies and most recently located to Delavan, Wisconsin, in March 2014. Nehlen owns Blue Skies Global LLC and serves as senior vice president of operations for Neptune-Benson, Inc., a subsidiary of Evoqua Water Technologies,[5] which is located in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.[6]
Contents
Personal life
Nehlen and his wife, Gabriela, have no children, but Nehlen has two adult sons from a previous marriage.[7] Nehlen and his wife currently reside in Delavan, Wisconsin.[8]
Political career
Republican Primary
Nehlen filed campaign papers to run against Speaker Ryan on April 1, 2016 and officially launched his campaign on April 14, with the opening of his first campaign office in Kenosha, Wisconsin.[9]
According to a Janesville Gazette report about his campaign launch, "Nehlen declined to talk about issues such as abortion and would not say what presidential candidate he supports or whether he would support a Republican running for the presidency." The same report also noted that Nehlen acknowledged only voting in Wisconsin three times between 2008 and 2016 because he had been "working overseas and creating jobs."[10]
On April 26, it was announced that Nehlen had earned the endorsement of the Atlanta, Georgia-based Tea Party Patriots.[11] The following day local conservative media outlet Right Wisconsin reported the tea party group's endorsement would not likely come with financial assistance as the group had spent 90% of its donations on expenses and just 10% on candidates in previous election cycles.
On May 5, 2016, Nehlen pledged to support Donald Trump for the presidency, support that came at a time when Ryan was not yet ready to do so.[12] Trump won just 32% of the primary in Ryan's congressional district.
Republican Primary Polling
A March Marquette Law School poll showed that Ryan had a 81% favorable rating among Republican and Republican-leaning voters in the 1st congressional district.[13] Another poll released on May 12, 2016 by the Remington Research Group showed Ryan leading with 78% to Nehlen's 14% among likely 2016 Republican Primary Election voters.[14]
On May 27, 2016 a Washington Free Beacon poll found Ryan leading Nehlen by 73% (80% to 7%) among Republican primary voters in the district. The poll also showed Ryan had a 76% approval rating among Republicans in the district.[15]
H-1B Visa Controversy
On May 27, 2016, the Wisconsin based conservative website Right Wisconsin reported that despite the Nehlen campaign making opposition to immigrant worker visas, specifically the H-1B visa program, a primary attack against Ryan, Nehlen's current employer was a frequent user of the H-1B visa program and had paid foreign workers nearly $900,000 in salaries through the program.[16]
References
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