Wisconsin businessman Paul Nehlen is aiming to defeat House Speaker Paul Ryan in Wisconsin's 1st District.
In an interview with
The Hill, Nehlen said his main issue is the House speaker's support for a plan to give President Obama trade promotion authority.
"A year ago, he went for fast-track trade-promotion authority for President Obama. That's what set this whole thing into motion," Nehlen said.
An executive with a water filtration company, Neptune Benson, Nehlen said the bill would send jobs overseas and bring foreign workers to the U.S.
Nehlen has obtained the support of the Tea Party Patriots group, according to his
website.
Political commentator Michelle Malkin endorsed Nehlen, including a #DumpRyan hashtag on Twitter:
No politicians in the GOP establishment have been defeated in elections so far in 2016, but the Wisconsin businessman pointed to Virginia in 2014, when Dave Brat upset of former party leader Eric Cantor as a sign that upsets could happen.
Nehlen criticized Ryan for being a career politician, saying, "He was grown in a petri dish in D.C. and climbed to the top of the D.C. food chain," reports The Hill.
According to the
Wisconsin State Journal, Nehlen said the Wisconsin Republican Party does not support him and he was refused a table at the state convention.
A party spokesman replied to the State Journal that the Nehlen campaign missed a deadline to register for the convention.