GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany said Tuesday he will run for governor of Wisconsin, joining a race for the open seat in the crucial swing state that has drawn crowded primaries on both sides.
Tiffany, 67, has represented Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District — a rural and solidly Republican area comprising most of the northern part of the state — since 2020.
"Madison politics may smell like the barn, but I know how to clean up the bull," Tiffany said in a video launching his campaign, highlighting that he grew up on a dairy farm. "I will roll up my sleeves and deliver results for every Wisconsinite."
Tiffany’s entrance into the race, which had been widely expected, further expands the field of candidates in both parties running to succeed Democrat Tony Evers, who announced in July that he wouldn’t run for a third term.
The primaries for both major parties are expected to be competitive. Wisconsin, a perennial battleground, is one of five states President Donald Trump won last year where a Democratic-controlled governorship is on the ballot in 2026. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter has rated the open race — the first one for governor in Wisconsin since 2010 — as a “toss up.”
Tiffany joins Josh Schoemann, the county executive of Washington County, an exurban area northwest of Milwaukee, and Bill Berrien, a Milwaukee manufacturing CEO, in the Republican primary. Businessmen Eric Hovde, who narrowly lost the U.S. Senate race to Democrat Tammy Baldwin last year, and Tim Michels, who lost to Evers in 2022, have also been weighing bids.
In his campaign launch video, Tiffany said he will freeze property taxes, protect farmland from China and prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls' sports.
"Common sense will win, because we cannot let Minnesota's madness and Illinois' insanity to take over here in Wisconsin," Tiffany said, referring to two Midwestern states with Democratic governors.
The race is even more crowded on the Democratic side.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez launched her campaign the day after Evers said he wouldn’t run again. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley announced his bid this month, as did state Sen. Kelda Roys, who ran unsuccessfully in 2018, and state Rep. Francesca Hong, who identifies as a democratic socialist.
Several other Democrats have privately or publicly expressed interest, including former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Attorney General Josh Kaul.
In a text message, Barnes, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in 2022, wouldn’t rule out entering the governor’s race.
“Much like the campaign eight years ago, there was damage being done by the federal government that made it hard for working people to get ahead. With the challenges we face together, I will consider whatever opportunity, including a run for governor, to bring back not just hope and optimism, but also results for Wisconsin,” Barnes said.
Other Democrats who’d earlier expressed interest in running for governor have since gone in other directions, including Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who endorsed Crowley, and Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, who is running for lieutenant governor.
The broad field across both parties so far lacks major figures with high name identification across Wisconsin, such as former Gov. Scott Walker, who passed on a 2026 bid.
“You might say to yourself, hey, this is a pretty weak field, and with that comes some unpredictability as the primaries unfold,” Brandon Scholz, a Wisconsin-based strategist, told NBC News ahead of Tiffany’s announcement.
By entering the race, Tiffany is also the latest example of a member of Congress who has looked to leave Washington, D.C., for the governor’s mansion.
Political strategists in Wisconsin said that Tiffany’s tenure as a federal lawmaker is likely to give him greater name recognition than his two current GOP competitors but that Berrien’s deep personal pockets could present an obstacle.
“My sense is that he would be the leader in the GOP primary when he announces but then will have to roll up his sleeves and work hard to maintain that lead," Scholz said. “And while he’s going to be very Trumpy, Tiffany is going to have to accelerate his fundraising efforts beyond what he did congressionally.”
Berrien has said he would contribute some of his personal funds to his campaign but won’t rely entirely on self-funding. Berrien has made praise of Trump the focus of the digital ads his campaign has so far run after having initially supported Nikki Haley during the 2024 presidential primaries.
Tiffany has expressed support for Trump’s tariffs, and he voted for Trump’s massive tax cut and spending bill that will cut Medicaid and food assistance programs. Democrats in Wisconsin and across the country have vowed to make those cuts central to their midterm campaigns.
“Tariff Lover Tom has been 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 expensive,” state Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker said in a statement. “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."
The election for governor will be at the top of a Wisconsin ticket full of other competitive races next year, including contests for lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Control of the Legislature could also be at stake for the first time in more than a decade.
A landmark 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision from a newly installed liberal majority prompted the redrawing of the state’s gerrymandered maps, giving Democrats a much more realistic path to take control of either the state Assembly or the Senate next year.
Republicans have controlled both legislative chambers since 2011. But after they made gains last year, Democrats would need to flip only two more seats in the Senate and five more in the Assembly to gain control.
