Here & Now

Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany, continues his campaign after he survived with only stitches.

A crashed water landing into Lake Wausau.

When the private plane.

He was a passenger in lost power last Saturday.

The FAA is investigating.

Senior political reporter Zac Schultz.

Tonight brings you interviews with both candidates running for governor, starting with current seventh District Congressman Tiffany.

The interview was conducted days before the crash.

Congresswoman Tiffany, Good to join you, Zac.

So immediately after the primary, a lot of the attention on the race seemed to be focused on data centers.

But in the last few weeks, it seems like it's shifted to traditional topics of taxes and spending and crime.

Do you think that will be the standard issue that this election is decided on?

Yeah, I think it's those quality of life issues.

I mean, when we talk about all the time is affordability, sense.

And that's the message that we're delivering out there.

But it is very much economic.

It's kitchen table issues.

I mean, people see their budgets.

They're they're really stretched thin at this point.

And that's their concern.

And I hear it from all the people that are out knocking doors for us.

They're like, it's economic kitchen table issues.

What people are talking about.

Now there's two different definitions of affordability that the parties have.

Obviously, you're talking about taxing and spending and the budget and Democrats are talking about national tariffs and rising prices or gas prices.

Which do you think impacts people more?

Well, I think they both do.

And, you know, gas prices are too high.

And, you know, those are largely set on world markets.

The thing that I've been focused on is what can I do as governor?

Because you can flail on issues that you don't have a impact on.

I think it's very important to have a governor that is going to be focused on the issues that you can help people out with.

And so if we're going to put more money in people's pockets, that's why I've been talking about let's reduce taxes and the 400 year property tax increase, the $3 billion budget surplus that we have, we should return every penny of it to the taxpayers so they have more money in their pockets.

We're going to do a 10% income tax cut for those making $150,000 and less, and no taxes on tips and overtime, just like we did federally.

Earlier this year.

You had a tweet where you're in front of the gas station, pumps and promises made, promises kept.

Obviously, prices have gone up significantly since then.

Do you regret that tweet or is it just outside of your ability to control?

of our control.

And you know, at that time, boy, what was it like 235 or something like that.

So gas prices had gone down.

They went up as a result of the instability in the Middle East and Iran.

And with the Revolutionary Guard plinking a ship every now and then in the Straits of Hormuz to keep gas prices up.

And so it's really important that we have more energy that is being produced.

And that's the thing that I've been focused on, both state and federally, is we have to be energy independent here in America.

So what can a governor do?

A governor can deal with the energy issue in regards to our utilities.

We've seen over $2 billion of increases in utility rates here over the last eight years.

The Public Service Commission here in Wisconsin has just acted as a rubber stamp for the utility rate increases.

I will not do that, and we can help make life more affordable for Wisconsinites by not raising those utility rates and getting back to keeping our base load sources of power.

And I think it's time to embrace the new nuclear technologies.

Democrats would point to your role in Congress as oversight, oversight, and control of the budget over Donald Trump and tariffs and, you know, initiating the war in Iran.

What do you have to say to respond about your role in Congress in that in that area?

Yeah.

So, you know, if you take a look at the bill that we passed last year, no taxes on tips and overtime, as well as Social Security taxes, we eliminated them for almost everyone that's on Social Security.

We've put more money into people's pockets.

I would also say that by securing the border, hopefully we're going to see the price of housing come down in some places.

Because remember when 10 million people came in over the four years of President Biden that that drove up the cost of housing because they had to live somewhere.

So those things are really important that that we deal with them.

But I'm focused now on what I can do as governor, and that is reducing costs for Wisconsinites.

One of the issues your campaign has brought up about David Crawley's record as Milwaukee County executive has to do with crime, but crime statistics nationwide and Wisconsin are down.

Is Milwaukee County a much different place than it was when, say, Scott Walker was county executive?

So you look at the last year and a half, violent crime has went down significantly here in America.

I mean, I think about Washington, DC, having spent some time out there serving in Congress.

The streets are much safer.

And that's because of the actions that have been taken by the administration to make sure that they're safe.

And to me, it sends a clear message we've accepted crime here in America and in Wisconsin over the last few decades, I believe.

And we don't need to accept these high crime levels as we're seeing them come down now.

And that's what I'll do as governor.

We're not going to accept crime.

We're not going to take the side like David Crowley.

My opponent does, of the perpetrators of crime.

We're going to look out for the victims of crime.

Let's make sure that we have safe streets in Wisconsin.

That means prosecutors need to prosecute.

And that means no sanctuary cities.

We need to make sure that Wisconsin is a safe place for people to live.

How much responsibility should the chief executive, either a county or a state, take when it comes to individual actions committed by individuals?

Well, if you listen to Judge Borowski last week in Milwaukee County, he talked about how it's preposterous that this happened, that a violent criminal was able to reach out to his victim and communicate with him 1500 times via the tablet he was given by Milwaukee County that was signed off in 2022 by David Crowley that they get a free tablet.

He renewed that once again in 2025, including after what we found out in May of this year, that there were violent criminals reaching out to their victims and messaging them 1500 times, that should have been the warning signal to the county executive.

We got to take another look at that.

What happens in the meantime?

Now we find out a triple murderer is trying to intimidate witnesses.

So a county executive or the governor has a great deal to do with safety.

And I think the big thing that the governor can do in Wisconsin is set the message that we're going to back up law enforcement.

We're going to support them.

We're going to make sure that we have safe streets here in Wisconsin.

Would you invite Donald Trump to campaign in Wisconsin?

Do you think you need him to burst, boost turnout in some of those areas?

going to decide where he's going to campaign here in 2026.

In the balance of the election, we just go out and do our job every day.

I've got a full schedule that's been set in place.

We're meeting every person that we can in the state of Wisconsin, and we're talking about the issues because, I mean, it's much like my opponent.

You hear him talk when he talks about Tom Tiffany.

All he talks about is Tom, Tiffany and Donald Trump.

And he's not talking about what do Wisconsinites want?

So he can rail against Donald Trump?

I'm fighting for Wisconsin, and that's what I will do.

As governor.

We're going to make sure we do the things that are best for the state of Wisconsin.

And I've always went about my business that way, whether I was in the state legislature or now in Congress.

The test is always what's best for Wisconsin, and that's what I'm going to do as governor.

The United States Postal Service has absentee balloting rules that are currently in court and looks like they're heading for the U.S.

Supreme Court.

Would you support those changes going in place even as absentee ballots are already being sent out in Wisconsin?

be up to the courts.

It is in the courts at this point, and they're going to decide what role is going to be able to be played there.

All I know is I have confidence in clerks across the state of Wisconsin.

There's hundreds of them, and I've worked with them in northern Wisconsin.

Regardless of what rules are put before them, they always go out and do their job and I appreciate the work that they do.

Do you have complete confidence that our elections in Wisconsin are free and fair and legitimate?

I believe that our elections are going to be done in that fashion.

I mean, it should be easy to vote, but hard to cheat.

Now, there's been a couple instances.

You look at Madison, they had the city of Madison had to fire their clerk two years ago because she failed to count 197 ballots.

Green Bay has had a problem.

Two elections in a row with their clerk.

I mean, we have to be vigilant also, but I just know the hundreds of clerks across the state of Wisconsin.

They do the very best job that they can.

Congressman Tiffany, Good to join you.

Zac.

Both candidates for governor were interviewed just before the U.S.