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Paul Nehlen

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (May 9, 1969- )
    Born in Ohio
    Full name is Paul F. Nehlen III
    Republican
    Founder of the pro bono work company, Blue Skies Global LLC
    Employed as senior vice president of operations for Neptune-Benson, Inc. (Beaver Dam, Wisconsin)
    Challenged House Speaker Paul Ryan for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district (Apr. 2016)
    Received endorsements from the The Tea Party, conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, and Sarah Palin
    Soundly lost to Speaker Ryan in the Wisconsin primary, by a margin of over 50% (Aug. 9, 2016)

Why he might be annoying:

    The legitimacy of his home-run business has been questioned.
    Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham stumped for him on the campaign trail.
    His rhetoric tends to veer into the personal (calling Speaker Ryan 'soul-less' in his Facebook posts).
    He rode a Harley and challenged Paul Ryan to an arm-wrestling match in a pandering campaign ad.
    He has reiterated support for Trump's controversial 'Muslim ban' and 'Mosque surveillance' policies.
    Donald Trump wavered on endorsing him, eventually capitulating to Ryan in order to promote 'party unity.'
    Although 'carpetbagger may be a strong word, he did only became a Wisconsin resident in 2014.
    He was a virtually unknown commodity until Sarah Palin announced her support for him during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, declaring that Speaker Ryan was in danger of being 'Cantored' (in reference to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's ousting by Dave Brat in 2014).
    He may have violated state voting laws by tweeting a photo of his marked up ballot while in the voting booth.
    His campaign against Paul Ryan burned out with little fanfare, and he lost decisively.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He is on the advisory board member for Operation Homefront, which raises funds and financial aid for families of 'Blue Star families' of active duty service members.
    He was grossly outspent by the Incumbent Ryan campaign.
    Phyllis Schlafly and The Stump for Trump Girls (Diamond/Silk) both campaigned for him.
    He is an inventor who holds several patents (US and abroad) related to the design of industrial tube sheeting and worker safety strainers/control systems.
    He worked his way from the shop floor to an executive leadership position at SPX Corporation.
    His campaign's 'Dump Ryan' dump truck was repeatedly vandalized over the course of the primary.
    He was motivated to run to unseat Ryan because he felt betrayed by the Speaker's support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal and Immigration Reform.
    He didn't take Trump's non-endorsement personally, remaining a vocal supporter of the Trump campaign.
    He rattled Ryan and establishment Republicans enough for them to circle the wagon to protect him (Speaker Ryan also repeatedly turned down debate opportunities).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 88 Votes: 59.09% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 98 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 235 Votes: 47.66% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 245 Votes: 53.06% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 61 Votes: 55.74% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 115 Votes: 57.39% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying