Contact: WisPolitics.com Editor JR Ross, 608-669-8418
ROTHSCHILD — Republican Party of Wisconsin conventioneers voting in a WisPolitics straw poll narrowly favored Washington County Exec Josh Schoemann over U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany to be the party’s nominee for governor in 2026.
They also overwhelmingly backed JD Vance for the GOP presidential nomination in 2028.
Schoemann, the only GOP candidate who has formally filed to run for governor next year, was activists’ top choice among possible candidates in next year’s race with support from 38% of those answering the question, or 110 votes. Tiffany, who has said he’s considering a run, was second with 35%, or 103 votes.
No one else cracked 12%.
Dem Gov. Tony Evers hasn’t announced whether he will seek a third term.
For president, 66% of those participating in the straw poll said they backed Vance for the GOP nomination. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was a distant second with 8%.
The question was posed to party activists with the assumption that the Constitution’s limit on presidents serving two terms would still bar Donald Trump from running again in 2028.
State GOP officials reported that approximately 534 delegates, 29 guests and six alternates attended the convention. Of those attending, more than half cast votes in the straw poll.
See complete coverage of the straw poll and the Republican Party of Wisconsin convention in the WisPolitics Convention Blog.
WisPolitics, started in 2000, is a nonpartisan online news organization based in Madison that operates an email news service in addition to the free sites WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com. WisPolitics is part of the State Affairs network. WisPolitics has frequently conducted straw polls at both state Republican and Democratic conventions over the years, though the state Dem Party is barring the news outlet from conducting one at its June convention this year.
**2025 GOP convention straw poll results**
Ballots cast: 295
If the 2026 GOP primary for governor were held today, whom would you support?
Josh Schoemann………..110
Tom Tiffany……………..103
Eric Hovde………………34
Pat Testin……………….12
Bill Berrien………………9
Mary Felzkowski………..5
Write-ins…………………19
No vote…………………..3
The U.S. Constitution limits presidents to serving two terms. Barring a change to that law, whom would you support if the 2028 GOP primary for president were held today?
JD Vance………………191
Ron DeSantis…………22
Marco Rubio…………..15
Donald Trump Jr………13
Nikki Haley…………….10
Vivek Ramaswamy……8
Ted Cruz……………….7
Sarah Huckabee Sanders…5
Tulsi Gabbard…………3
Glenn Youngkin……….3
Kristi Noem…………….3
Tom Cotton…………….2
Tim Scott………………2
Larry Hogan…………..1
Write-in…………………4
No vote…………………6
