ROTHSCHILD — GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany says he’s considering several questions as he weighs a run for governor in 2026, including if he’s the best Republican to run.
Since Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, Republicans have struggled in statewide elections, losing 15 of the last 19 contested races. Two of those victories were U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s win in 2022 and Trump’s victory in 2024.
Tiffany, R-Minocqua, told WisPolitics in an interview a key in both of their victories was motivating people throughout the state with their authenticity, particularly those in rural areas. He said Republicans will need a gubernatorial candidate who can do the same to win next year, with turning out Trump supporters a key.
Tiffany said he’s a proven vote-getter in rural areas as he’s racked up wins in northern Wisconsin’s 7th CD. That includes Hudson, which is on the western edge of his district. He called the community — home to a number of Minnesota transplants — as suburban as any community in the state. Tiffany said he won the city last fall and believes he can turn out the voters that a Republican needs in order to win statewide.
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“That’s at the core of the decision I make. If I think I can do the most good for people in the state of Wisconsin if I run for governor, then I may do it,” Tiffany said. “The second part of it is, ‘Am I the best Republican to run?’”
Money will be another key, and some have noted Tiffany hasn’t been a particularly strong fundraiser. Over the first three months of 2024, he raised $62,484. Only one other Wisconsin member raised less.
Still, Tiffany also raised $2.6 million in 2020 as he won a special election for the 7th CD that spring and then took the strongly GOP seat again that fall.
“When I’ve had to raise money, I’ve done it,” Tiffany said.
Tiffany estimated a candidate will have to raise $30 million to $40 million for the guv’s race next year to be successful. The congressman said he doesn’t have a firm deadline to make a decision on whether to run, saying he’s focused on what’s happening in Washington, D.C., in the immediate future.
That includes the reconciliation bill that Republicans are trying to push through both houses of Congress.
He was optimistic Republicans will be able to pass the bill. He also argued Republicans shouldn’t let Dems define their efforts as a push to “gut” programs like Medicaid when it’s about prohibiting those in the country illegally from collecting benefits and ensuring able-bodied childless adults are in the workforce, not on welfare.
“We are going to get blamed for what they want to blame us for whether we do it or not, so we might as well do the right thing and be able to defend it back home,” Tiffany said. “That’s what we should be doing.”
