Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany responded to rumors that former Governor Tommy Thompson is seriously considering a run.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany responded Wednesday to reports that former Gov. Tommy Thompson is considering entering the Republican primary race.
Tiffany appeared on The Ben Yount Show on News/Talk 1130 WISN Wednesday morning and highlighted his momentum after receiving President Trump’s endorsement earlier this year. That endorsement prompted Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, an early entrant in the GOP field, to drop out and back Tiffany.
“After President Trump’s endorsement, the next day, Josh Schoemann, who was the first person in the governor’s race, very graciously called me and he said, ‘Tom, I see the handwriting on the wall and I want to support you because the most important thing that we can do is to win the governorship,’” Tiffany told Yount. “Our state is going in the wrong direction and I am here to support you. And by the way, Josh has been out on the campaign trail doing surrogate work for me. And I can’t thank him enough. And he was so gracious in how he bowed out.”
Tiffany then praised Thompson, who served four terms as governor from 1987 to 2001, calling him one of Wisconsin’s greatest leaders.
“Governor Thompson, you know, what a good governor. Back in 1986, when he first was elected, did a fine job, will always go down as one of the great governors of the state of Wisconsin. No one like him. I mean, he always talked about his love of Wisconsin,” Tiffany said.
The congressman emphasized the need to return to policies from decades past, including work requirements and stronger school performance, as central to his platform.
“And I got to tell you, as a lifelong resident, we need to do some of those things that happened like 20 and 30 years ago. We need to have work requirements once again. We need to make sure that our schools are performing as they should be. And that is central things to my campaign, because what we’re doing is building a campaign that can win in November,” Tiffany added.
Tiffany has consolidated support among Republicans following Trump’s backing and other candidates’ exits. Thompson, now 84, has not confirmed any plans to run as rumors swirled over the past week that he is seriously considering challenging Tiffany for the nomination.
