Here & Now is introducing candidates running in the primaries for Wisconsin governor in 2026, asking them why they are running and how they will be seeking support from voters in this phase of the campaign. These conversations start with two Republicans: U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and Washington County Exec. Josh Schoemann. An eruption of state-level fights over congressional district boundaries is gaining steam with the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreeing to proceed on two lawsuits challenging the state’s maps — UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden speaks to the issue of gerrymandering and why efforts to draw new districts has become a nationwide issue.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany
R-7th Congressional District

• First serving in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature over the 2010s, Tiffany was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a 2020 special election and has served in Congress since. Tiffany announced a 2026 run for governor in September, and is considered the frontrunner in the Republican primary race. He spoke to what motivates his candidacy.
• Tiffany: I think one thing that maybe a lot of people don’t realize, the reason I ran for the state Assembly back in 2010, when I first gained elected office, was because of fiscal responsibility. We had a $3 billion deficit at that point, and that’s always animated me, that government should spend within its means.

County Exec. Josh Schoemann
County Executive, Washington County

• Working in different local government offices for over a decade, Schoemann was elected as the first Washington County Executive in the spring 2020 election. He was the first Republican who announced a 2026 run for governor, and spoke to what motivates his candidacy.
• Schoemann: Yeah, I think people-driven, being very people-focused and mostly interested in solving problems — that’s why I got into public service. I actually started in public administration because I thought politics was a little too volatile and too theoretical. Public administration is really where the rubber hits the road, and you’re dealing with people where they’re at. My first job back in Wisconsin was deputy clerk treasurer in Princeton, Green Lake County, and I ended up taking on responsibilities in public works, literally shoveling out lift stations. So, I think those are important things — making sure when you flush the toilet, it does what it’s supposed to do and the garbage is collected on time — and to this day, that’s who I am as Washington County Executive, and who I will be as governor.

Barry Burden
Professor, UW-Madison Department of Political Science

• Legal challenges over Wisconsin’s congressional maps are playing out in the midst of redistricting fights in multiple states as President Donald Trump tries to maintain a fragile Republican majority in the U.S. House going into the 2026 midterms. On Nov. 25, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered two panels composed of three circuit court judges apiece to review two lawsuits that seek to overturn Wisconsin’s congressional districts, with plaintiffs in each arguing that the maps are an unconstitutional gerrymander. UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said whether the maps are constitutional will be a matter for the courts, but they certainly favor Republicans, which hold six of eight congressional districts .
• Burden: “They’re not competitive — at least four or six of those seats are unlikely to be held by anything but a Republican or Democrat, regardless of who those people are and what the campaigns are like and what the issues are like. We know well in advance — the 2nd District, the 8th District — what kind of party is going to represent those seats. Only two of the seats, the first and the third, are anywhere near competitive. We have Republican incumbents in both of those districts. They lean Republican, so there’s always a possibility of an upset there, but even those have been reliable for Republican victories.”

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