Sean Patrick Duffy (born October 3, 1971) is an American politician,

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

, former

sports commentator In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

and

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...

personality who is currently a co-host of ''The Bottom Line'' on

Fox Business Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...

, as well as a contributor on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

, he previously served as the U.S. representative for

Wisconsin's 7th congressional district Wisconsin's 7th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northwestern and central Wisconsin; it is the largest congressional district in the state geographically, covering 20 counties (i ...

from 2011 to 2019. He first gained fame as a cast member on '' The Real World: Boston'', 1998's '' Road Rules: All Stars'' and 2002's '' Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons'', before going on to serve as

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

Ashland County, Wisconsin Ashland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,027. Its county seat is Ashland. The county was formed on March 27, 1860, from La Pointe County. The county partly overlaps with ...

Early life

Duffy was born on October 3, 1971, in

Hayward, Wisconsin Hayward is a city in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States, next to the Namekagon River. The population was 2,318 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sawyer County. The city is surrounded by the Town of Hayward. History Early ...

, the tenth of 11 children of Carol Ann (née Yackel) and Thomas Walter Duffy. Duffy has a marketing degree from St. Mary's University, and a J.D. degree from William Mitchell College of Law. Duffy started log rolling at age five and speed climbing (sprinting up 60 and 90 foot poles) at 13. He holds two speed-climbing titles.

Television career

In 1997, Duffy appeared on '' The Real World: Boston'', the sixth season of the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

show, and on '' Road Rules: All Stars'' in 1998, where he met his future wife

Rachel Campos Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

. Duffy later appeared on '' Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons'', which aired in 2002. Both appeared in a filmed segment on 2008's ''The Real World Awards Bash'', while Duffy served as district attorney. Duffy has been an

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

color commentator for televised competitions and in 2003 appeared as both a competitor and commentator on

Great Outdoor Games ''Great Outdoor Games'' was a series of televised outdoor games created by ESPN. The program was cancelled in 2006. ''Great Outdoor Games'' individual events include: * Fishing Events ** Fly Fishing ** Freshwater Doubles * Sporting Dog Events ...

. He was named

Badger State Games The Badger State Games are a series of annual Olympic-style multi-sport events for amateur athletes from the state of Wisconsin, held twice per year in Wausau. It is a member of the National Congress of State Games. The summer games have been hel ...

Honorary Athlete of the 2004 Winter Games. In December 2022 Duffy and

Dagen McDowell Mary Dagen McDowell (born January 7, 1969) is an American anchor and co-host of ''The Bottom Line'' on Fox Business. As well as a contributor on Fox News. Education A native of Campbell County, Virginia, from a family of Irish background, McDo ...

were named co-hosts of ''The Bottom Line'', a show on

scheduled to premiere on January 23, 2023.

Political career

2002–2008

Duffy, a Republican, was appointed Ashland County

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

in 2002 by then Governor

Scott McCallum James Scott McCallum (born May 2, 1950) is an American businessman and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 43rd governor of Wisconsin, ascending from the Lieutenant Governorship when Tommy Thompson resigned in 2001 t ...

, and was reelected unopposed in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. Upon assuming the office of

, he succeeded

Michael Gableman Michael J. Gableman (born September 18, 1966) is an Americans, American lawyer and former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A Republican Party (US), Republican, he has been described as a hard-line conservative. From June 2021 until August ...

, a former justice on the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

. Duffy was on the Republican slate of the 10

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

electors for the 2008 presidential election.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

;2010 On July 8, 2009, Duffy announced his campaign for Congress in Wisconsin's seventh congressional district. Duffy was considered an underdog in the race until May 2010 when 15-term incumbent Democratic Representative Dave Obey announced that he would not seek re-election. Following Obey's announcement, Democratic State Senator

Julie Lassa Julie M. Lassa (born October 21, 1970) is a former Democratic Party member of the Wisconsin State Senate, who represented the 24th District from April 2003 to January 2017. She was a member of the Wisconsin Assembly for the 71st District from 19 ...

joined the race. On June 4, 2010, Duffy announced his resignation from the position of Ashland County District Attorney to focus on the congressional race. The resignation was effective three weeks later and Duffy returned to work in his father's law practice. He won the race on November 2, 2010, in a nationwide wave of Republicans being elected to Congress. Different sources attribute his victory to his ten-month head start on Lassa's campaign, his grassroots organization and fundraising, his experience as a district attorney, and voter discontent with the economy."Strong campaign, voter discontent keys to Duffy victory"
. News Talk 550AM 99.9AM

WSAU (AM) WSAU (550 kHz) is an AM radio station broadcasting a conservative talk format serving Wausau, Wisconsin, United States, area, and simulcasted on WSAU-FM (99.9) in Stevens Point (licensed to Rudolph). The station is owned by Wausau-based ...

. November 4, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010. ;2012 Duffy was challenged by Democratic nominee Pat Kreitlow. ;2014 Duffy was challenged by Democratic nominee Kelly Westlund.

Tenure

In 2011, Duffy voted to eliminate Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage requirements for federal projects.Bivins, Larry (December 24, 2011)
"Duffy ends 2011 with bill he promised at start"
''The Marshfield News-Herald''. In March 2011, Duffy was criticized when a video published by the Polk County Republicans, showing a public town hall-style meeting in his district, was picked up by media commentators. In the video, made in the wake of the passage of a controversial state bill which would have effectively frozen the salaries of state employees, Duffy was asked about whether he would be willing to cut his own $174,000 salary. Duffy responded that he would only be willing to do so as part of a general round of salary cuts for government employees, and insisted that he was "struggling" to get by, despite his salary being nearly three times the average for Wisconsin residents. On December 22, 2011, Duffy and fellow GOP House freshman Rick Crawford (Arkansas), published an open letter to Speaker Boehner, urging the leader to allow the House to vote on the Senate's two-month tax cut extension compromise. In 2013, Duffy and Democratic House member

Michael Michaud Michael Herman Michaud (born January 18, 1955) is an American businessman and politician from Maine. Michaud served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The primarily rural district comprise ...

(Maine) introduced a resolution calling for government action to ensure that people be provided with paper-based information along with electronic. Duffy was on the Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood. Duffy supported President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's 2017

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. He stated that "President Trump is fulfilling a campaign promise to re-evaluate our visa vetting process so that the American people are safe from terrorism." In January 2017, Duffy co-sponsored legislation that would end protection for grey wolves in the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

. In February 2017, Duffy made controversial statements in an interview with CNN's

Alisyn Camerota Alisyn Lane Camerota (born June 21, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator. She currently co-hosts CNN Newsroom from 2-4 pm with Victor Blackwell. She formerly was anchor of CNN's morning show '' New Day'' and a p ...

while discussing the topic of

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's immigration and travel ban, which focused on combating radical Islamist terrorists. When Camerota, referring to the

Quebec City mosque shooting The Quebec City mosque shooting (french: Attentat de la grande mosquée de Québec) was an attack by a single gunman on the evening of January 29, 2017, at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood ...

, asked why Trump made no public statement on the white terrorists who perpetrated that act, Duffy replied, "I don't know, there's a difference. You don't have a group like ISIS or al Qaeda that is inspiring people around the world to take up arms and kill innocents...That was a one off, Alisyn." In July 2018, Duffy said that Europe, China, Canada and Mexico had committed "economic terrorism in a way" by placing retaliatory tariffs on the United States in response to tariffs enacted by the Trump administration. Duffy resigned his seat effective September 23, 2019, to care for a newborn daughter with a heart defect.

Legislation sponsored

Duffy proposed legislation to replace the director of the consumer watchdog group, the

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mo ...

(CFPB), with a five-person commission and removing the CFPB from

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after ...

oversight so that it "would go through the same funding process as other federal agencies." The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would have been renamed the Financial Product Safety Commission. The bill also intended to make overturning the decisions about regulations that the new commission made easier to do. The bill gave the commission more room to get rid of policies that Duffy believes jeopardize the safety of the US banking system. In December 2015, Duffy introduced legislation to establish a five-person financial oversight board over Puerto Rico (with members appointed by the White House) in exchange for allowing public entities in Puerto Rico access to Chapter 9 restructuring. The

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded o ...

gave him a 78% evaluation in 2017 and

Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States funded by Charles Koch and formerly his brother David. As the Koch brothers' primary political advocacy group, it is one ...

gave him an 88% evaluation in 2019.

Committee assignments

Duffy served on the

House Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees ...

. He was appointed Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in November 2014, taking over from Patrick McHenry. He was also a member of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises. He also served on the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.

Electoral history

* 2018 race for U.S. House of Representatives – 7th District ** Sean Duffy (R), 60.2% ** Margaret Engebretson (D), 38.5% * 2016 race for U.S. House of Representatives – 7th District ** Sean Duffy (R), 62% ** Mary Hoeft (D), 38% * 2014 race for U.S. House of Representatives – 7th District ** Sean Duffy (R), 60% ** Kelly Westlund (D), 39% * 2012 race for U.S. House of Representatives – 7th District ** Sean Duffy (R), 56% ** Pat Kreitlow (D), 44% * 2010 race for U.S. House of Representatives – 7th District ** Sean Duffy (R), 52% **

(D), 44% * 2008 race for District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin ** Sean Duffy (R) (inc.) ** unopposed * 2006 race for District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin ** Sean Duffy (R) (inc.) ** unopposed * 2004 race for District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin ** Sean Duffy (R) (inc.) ** unopposed * 2002 race for District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin ** Sean Duffy (R) (inc.) ** unopposed

Personal life

Duffy is a practicing

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. Duffy is married to Rachel Campos-Duffy, a fellow alumna of '' The Real World'', and

personality, whom he met when they were co-stars on '' Road Rules: All Stars''. They lived in

Ashland, Wisconsin Ashland is a city in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Ashland County. The city is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon Bay. The population was 7,908 at the 2020 census, all ...

when Duffy was District Attorney for that county. They moved to

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

, a suburb of

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, an ...

, in late 2011, in order for Duffy to be closer to an airport for his weekly commute to Washington, D.C., where he spent three or four days a week. As of August 2019, Duffy and his wife have eight children, and were expecting their ninth that October. On August 26, 2019, Duffy announced that because he and his wife learned that their ninth child would experience health complications, including a heart condition, he was resigning from Congress, effective September 23. Duffy's nephew,

Erik Johnson Erik Robert Johnson (born March 21, 1988) is an American ice hockey defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed the "Condor", Johnson previously played for the St. Louis Blues, who selected him with the f ...

, is an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

defenseman and alternate captain for the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

References

External links

Congressman Sean Duffy
official U.S. House website
Sean Duffy for Congress
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Sean 1971 births 21st-century American politicians Catholics from Wisconsin District attorneys in Wisconsin Living people People from Ashland, Wisconsin People from Hayward, Wisconsin People from Marathon County, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Saint Mary's University of Minnesota alumni The Challenge (TV series) contestants The Real World (TV series) cast members William Mitchell College of Law alumni Fox News people