US Rep. Tom Tiffany Will Run for Wisconsin Governor

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany holds an egg carton as he begins his speech Saturday, May 17, 2025, during the Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention in Rothschild, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has officially entered Wisconsin’s 2026 race for governor, joining a field of GOP candidates hoping to win back control of the executive branch, held by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers since 2019.

During an appearance on WISN-AM’s Dan O’Donnell show Tuesday, Tiffany laid any lingering doubts to rest.

“I’m here to announce on your show that I’m going to run for governor of the state of Wisconsin in the 2026 election,” Tiffany said. “It is a great challenge that is going to be before us, but it is also a great opportunity, and we are going to accept that challenge, and we’re in as of right now.”

Tiffany’s entrance into the gubernatorial campaign is hardly a surprise. He’s been hinting at a run since at least July when posted a picture of himself showing off a fish he caught on a frozen Wisconsin lake in response to a social media post by a conservative website calling for all future gubernatorial candidates to “prove they know how to hold a fish.” The following month, he posted a picture of himself standing in front of a large congressional campaign sign that had been modified to say “Tom Tiffany For Governor.”

Tiffany was also scheduled to join members of the Wisconsin College Republicans on Wednesday at a “very special event” near Wausau, which could now serve as his first official rally of the 2026 campaign.

In a statement, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Devin Remiker called Tiffany “Tariff Lover Tom” and accused him and other Republicans in Congress of “jacking up prices on Wisconsin families with his blind support for a trade war that is making everything from beer to beef to school supplies way more.”

“Tariff Lover Tom has shown us who he really is — a bought and paid for stooge who will vote to take health care and food security away from children, the elderly, and veterans to give billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos,” Remiker said. “We’re going to show Wisconsinites what a fraud he is and defeat him next November.”

Tiffany has years of state and federal government experience

Tiffany, who has been elected three times to represent northern Wisconsin’s sprawling 7th Congressional District, has been involved in Republican politics for more than a decade.

He was first elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2010 amid a red wave that gave Republicans full control of the state Legislature and governor’s office for nearly a decade. In 2013, Tiffany was elected to the state Senate where he served until 2020 before his first successful bid for Congress, in which he succeeded former Republican U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, who now heads the U.S. Department of Transportation and NASA.

Tiffany’s state government experience far outweighs that of the two other Republicans vying to be Wisconsin’s next governor. Josh Schoemann, who has been campaigning since May, has served as Washington County Executive since 2020. Before that he spent six years as an administrator and administrative manager for the deep-red county.

Business executive and former Navy SEAL Bill Berrien entered the race in early July and has cast himself as a political outsider closely aligned with President Donald Trump. Some Wisconsin conservatives have voiced concern about Berrien’s allegiance to Trump, however, because in 2024 he donated more than $30,000 to support former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign.

Wide open seat sets stage for burgeoning primaries

While just three Republicans have entered the race for governor thus far, Evers’ departure from state politics has opened the floodgates to a growing field of aspiring Democrats. Already, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, State Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, Milwaukee-area beer vendor Ryan Strnad and student Zachary Roper have entered the race.

There’s speculation that other Democrats could also run, including Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

Editor’s note: This story will be updated.

US Rep. Tom Tiffany enters race for Wisconsin governor was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.