Former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who has flirted in recent months with making another run for his old office, instead today endorsed fellow Republican Tom Tiffany.
In a statement to WisPolitics, Thompson said he is endorsing Tiffany, a Northwoods congressman, because he knows Wisconsin “has to keep reforming and moving forward.”
“At this critical moment, he is the right leader for Wisconsin’s future, and I look forward to campaigning for him and all Republicans across the state this November,” Thompson said.
Talk of the 84-year-old Thompson running again surfaced in recent months. Insiders saw it as a sign the ex-governor believed he was the only one who could address the challenges he sees facing Wisconsin and that Tiffany wasn’t up to the task. His endorsement of the Minocqua Republican ends that chatter, and eliminates a distraction for the 7th CD congressman as he marches toward the GOP nomination.
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Thompson, the only person in Wisconsin history elected to four terms as governor, has flirted with multiple bids since his four-year term as Health & Human Services secretary under George W. Bush.
He weighed runs for governor in 2006, 2010, 2022 and this year, only to decide against a bid each time.
He mounted a run for president in 2007, but dropped out after the Iowa straw poll that August. He then ran for the U.S. Senate in 2012, winning a four-way GOP primary before losing to Dem Tammy Baldwin by more than 5 points.