Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, launched a new seven-figure campaign advertisement titled “Cliché” April 14, following the spring elections.
The advertisement, which will be shared statewide via broadcast, digital and streaming, highlights Tiffany’s Wisconsin background and goals to lower property taxes and safeguard farmland from big data corporations, according to a Wispolitics press release.
“Tom Tiffany’s campaign is off to a great start. We are confident he will win in November,” University of Wisconsin College Republicans president Courtney Graves said in an emailed statement. “This ad campaign emphasizes his Wisconsin roots and commitment to our state’s future.”
Tiffany did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Tiffany was endorsed by President Donald Trump in late January, prompting competition Josh Schoemann to drop out of the race, according to CapTimes. His sole opponent in the Aug. 11 primary will be 26-year-old medical service technician Andrew Manske, who has never run for elected office.
“It’s a sign that Republicans are in trouble,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin press secretary Emily Stuckey said. “These losses in the spring election have very clearly sent them into panic mode, and I think this [advertisement] is an attempt to salvage that.”
The liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Chris Taylor won the spring election April 7 by 60 percentage points, growing the court’s liberal balance to 5-2, according to WPR.
Tiffany said there is no doubt that Republicans “got our butts kicked” in response to Taylor’s landslide victory during an April 8 press conference, but he has built a campaign that will compete on all fronts, according to CBS58.
“His values certainly don’t align with what Wisconsinites would want to see in a governor,” UW College Democrats chair Ty Schanhofer said. “I don’t think [this advertisement] will work, even though they paid maybe upwards of seven figures. I don’t think it’ll clear his record.”
Schanhofer said Tiffany’s history of supporting anti-abortion policies and voting in favor of the H.R.1 bill are contradictory to Wisconsin values.
Stuckey pointed to Tiffany’s vote to overturn the 2020 election and replace Joe Biden with Donald Trump, a decision he has remained steadfast in, as another reason his candidacy is incongruent with what Wisconsin is looking for.
“There’s so much on the line,” Schanhofer said. “I want to see childcare plans, I want to see healthcare plans that’ll make it more cheap and accessible … seeing plans for those things are definitely what people are looking for.”
