"As my message gets out, people realize they have a choice now to put somebody in office who's going to represent them as opposed to what Speaker Ryan's being doing in representing the special interests down in D.C.," Nehlen said.

"I'm thrilled with those numbers. I've got over 4,000 donors. In four weeks I went to 15 percent and we've got roughly 13 weeks to go. So imagine where we'll be at the end of this."

Nehlen also used the interview to promote his business bona fides and contrast them with those of Ryan.

"I've got a factory up in Beaver Dam," Nehlen said. "I started out as a maintenance mechanic at 18 years old. I eventually ran that business; I ran businesses all around the country. I'm an engineer, I'm an inventor. I've got U.S. patents, I've got foreign patents. I was in charge of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for a Fortune 500 (company). I've run businesses in Mexico, Canada, China. I know about business and about trade. I've made payrolls. Paul Ryan's driven the Wienermobile, for god's sakes. So for him to suggest he's got the solution to small businesses, as he wrote in his op-ed for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that's offensive to small business owners."

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