Bon Iver’s longtime manager, Kyle Frenette?, is running for Congress in the hopes of unseating Republican Rep. Sean Duffy, an ardent President Donald Trump supporter who has been representing Wisconsin’s 7th District since 2011.
Frenette, who was born and raised in the district, is raising money for his campaign through “Act Blue,” a tool for progressive candidates to raise money to “resist the Trump administration.” He plans to take a leave from Middle West Management and is set to formally announce his campaign Thursday.
“Kyle always had progressive politics near and dear to his heart, but he didn’t get politically active until what happened in 2016 with Donald Trump’s election and he just felt that there was a need for a new generation of leaders to pick up the torch and run with it,” Frenette’s campaign manger, Christian Duffy (no relation to the congressman) told CNN in a phone interview Tuesday.
“The Trump administration is something that he feels needs to be stood up to and Sean Duffy has been one of Trump’s biggest surrogates … his voting record has been pretty much in line with the President’s policies,” he added.
Duffy’s campaign spokesman Mark Bednar told CNN in an email Tuesday that while “Democrats are mired in a crowded primary until the end of summer,” the congressman “continues to fight for lower taxes, wage boosts, and greater opportunity for Wisconsinites of all backgrounds.”
Before he can face off against Duffy, the music manager would have to defeat Margaret Engebretson and others who are expected to formally announce their campaigns in the Democratic primary, which votes on August 14.
This race will likely be an uphill battle for Democrats.
Duffy, a former district attorney and an alum of MTV’s “The Real World,” defeated Democratic candidate Mary Hoeft last November with 61.7% of the vote.
The congressman has vocally defended President Trump on issues such as immigration and Russia, arguing that people “don’t give a s—” about the Russia investigation. Trump won the district with 57% of the vote in November.
Frenette recently spoke out in support of gun control legislation on Twitter following the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. He also responded to a tweet by Duffy touting the Republican tax reform plan.
“There are better ways of helping American workers and families than relying on greed … Instead of trickle down, let’s work from the bottom up!” he wrote.
