Tiffany Vows More State Audits In Bid For Governor

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, speaks to reporters about his “Taxpayer Accountability Plan” on Sept. 18, 2026 in Eau Claire, Wis. Rich Kremer/WPR

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said Friday that if he’s elected governor, he’ll initiate fraud investigations similar to those launched by the federal government.

Those investigations have been top priorities of President Donald Trump’s administration, though during a press conference at the Eau Claire County Republican Party headquarters Friday, Tiffany didn’t mention Trump by name.

He promised to create a “Taxpayer Accountability Plan,” which he said would include hiring more auditors for state government.

“We’re going to find the waste. We’re going to eliminate the duplication. And we’re going to demand results for every tax dollar that goes to Madison,” Tiffany said.

Tiffany cited this year’s financial collapse of northeast Wisconsin anti-poverty nonprofit Newcap as an example of why the state needs stronger oversight. The Republican-controlled state Legislative Audit Committee ordered an audit of Newcap and related entities.

The nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau is charged with auditing state government annually. Tiffany noted that the agency would have received an additional four auditor positions in the most recent state budget, but they were vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Evers’ veto message said he objected because the bureau has sufficient funding and positions to continue statutorily required audits and discretionary audits directed by the Wisconsin Legislature.

Republicans in Wisconsin have been following Trump’s lead in calling for rooting out potential government waste or abuse. After Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, began slashing federal agency budgets and initiating mass layoffs, GOP legislators in Wisconsin launched the Committee on Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency, or GOAT. Its first hearing in March 2025 focused on state employees working from home since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tiffany accused his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, of overseeing property tax increases in all but one year of his tenure, doubling the county’s sales tax and needing a “massive bailout” from state taxpayers. He was referring to a 2023 deal between Republicans and Democrats to boost state shared revenue payments going to all local governments in Wisconsin, which allowed the City of Milwaukee to enact a 2 percent sales tax and the county to raise its sales tax by 0.4 percent.

A statement from a Crowley campaign spokesperson said he will cut taxes “by closing loopholes for billionaires and corporations,” and “clean up corruption” to restore trust in government.

“MAGA Congressman Tom Tiffany will be Wisconsin’s Donald Trump, which means selling out Wisconsinites to the highest bidder, raising gas and grocery costs, and handing out massive tax breaks to billionaires like he’s done his entire career,” the statement said.

Crowley’s campaign also promised Crowley would end Wisconsin’s minimum markup law on products like gasoline, which Tiffany also called for on Friday.

Tiffany promises more state agency audits if elected governor was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.