Thomas Tiffany

Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany argued his opponent David Crowley is politically aligned with democratic socialist Francesca Hong.

Tiffany criticized Crowley's record as Milwaukee County executive, citing the county's deficit as a disqualifying factor.

Crowley's campaign spokesperson called Tiffany a "MAGA extremist" and criticized his voting record in Congress.

In his first campaign stop as Republican nominee for governor, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany argued David Crowley’s upset in the Democratic primary didn’t change the dynamics of the gubernatorial race.

Tiffany framed Crowley as in-step with democratic socialist candidate Francesca Hong as he talked to supporters Aug. 12 in Bellevue.

“There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between all the Democratic candidates,” he said, and that no Democratic candidate challenged Hong’s policies when they gathered in their only debate before the primary election.

He said that at a La Crosse campaign event in July Crowley said there were not many policies where he differed from Hong. A campaign spokesperson later said Crowley “does not agree with his fellow candidates on every policy issue.”

To reporters, Tiffany pointed to Crowley’s record as Milwaukee County executive and said he was unfit for the governorship. Tiffany attributed that Milwaukee County’s deficit to Crowley’s leadership and said the county executive raised taxes in response.

“Should we be giving him a promotion to the most important seat in Wisconsin, the governorship of Wisconsin? I think that that’s disqualifying,” Tiffany said.

Jonathan Fera, a spokesperson for Crowley's campaign, told the Press-Gazette that Tiffany was “clearly in meltdown mode” over the prospect of facing Crowley in November. The University of Virginia's Center for Politics most recently updated its forecast for the governor's race from a toss-up toward a Democratic win.

Fera said Crowley “has already done what Tiffany is campaigning on − lowering property taxes and expanding affordable housing.” He criticized Tiffany’s voting record in Congress, saying Tiffany “skipped multiple votes on a bipartisan bill to lower housing costs and has sold out working people to pay for tax cuts for billionaires like Elon Musk.”

“Wisconsinites don’t need another career politician like MAGA extremist congressman Tom Tiffany selling them out to the highest bidder,” Fera said.

After reentering a Democratic primary that’s seen campaigns upended by finance snafus and allegations of sexual conduct, Crowley cinched the Democratic Party’s nomination by less than half a percentage point over Hong.

Tiffany, who represents the 7th Congressional District, easily beat Andy Manske in the Republican primary. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election in 2020. Before that he served in the state Senate and Assembly.