Tom Tiffany announces run for governor

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (7th District) has officially entered Wisconsin’s open race for governor.

The Northwoods Republican announced his long-rumored campaign in a video on Tuesday, pledging to cut taxes, defend rural interests and preserve what he called “Wisconsin values.”

“I will freeze property taxes [and] protect our farmland from Communist China, ” Tiffany said in a campaign announcement video.

“Girls’ sports will stay for girls, moms will be moms — not inseminated persons — and common sense will win,” he added, while also taking aim at neighboring states and Madison politics.

The Congressman first announced the news Tuesday on the Dan O’Donnell Show.

“It is a great challenge that it is before us, but it is also a great opportunity, and we’re going to accept that challenge. We’re in, as of right now,” he told the conservative talk host.

Tiffany is a former local elected official, serving as Town Supervisor of Little Rice for years before he came to state office. He was elected to the state Legislature in 2010, and was a prominent Republican voice during the Act 10 fights. He served in the Assembly for one term, and was elected to the State Senate in 2012, where he served until he was elected to Congress in 2020.

“Working with Governor Walker and a whole lot of other like-minded people, we did a lot of really good things for eight years,” he told O’Donnell.

After nearly a decade in the state Legislature, a special election in 2020 sent Tiffany to Washington, DC to represent Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

The district is Wisconsin’s largest geographical district, covering roughly 20 counties in the north and west parts of the state.

Tiffany joins Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and businessman Bill Berrien in vying for the Republican primary nomination.

He’ll host a campaign kickoff Wednesday evening in Wausau.

---