7th Congressional District Representative Tom Tiffany.
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) Congressman Tom Tiffany is openly considering a run for governor. Will he or won’t he? I can argue either way.
If he is going to get into the race, delaying an announcement for another 30 to 60 days is a mistake. Giving your opponents a more-than-a-month headstart is bad politics.
One clue that Tiffany will run is his appearance at the Wisconsin State Fair. On Monday he was on the fairgrounds in West Allis. He was not out-and-about shaking hands with fairgoers. But he did visit the booths of Republican organizations, trying to line up support. He’s quietly putting together the apparatus of a campaign.
I like Tom Tiffany. His political views align with mine. But he’s not a shoe-in. He’s a political unknown outside of his 7th Congressional District (which covers Wausau and areas to the north). He’ll need strong support from the purple parts of the state – like Green Bay, the Minneapolis suburbs to the west, and the conservative WOW counties around Milwaukee. A straw poll among Milwaukee County republicans has failed U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde in the lead.
Tom Tiffany does not have some natural gifts that are helpful in politics. He’s a good speaker who stays on-point, but he’s not a spellbinding speaker. Other candidates are better looking – and in the TV and online era of politics, looks matter.
While I would vote enthusiastically for Congressman Tom, my preferred candidate is Sean Duffy. There are no signs whatsoever that he’ll run. My only hope is that Duffy gave up his cushy, lucrative job as a Fox News contributor to be Donald Trump’s transportation secretary. So he’s back in the arena of politics… but, he no longer lives in Wisconsin, and he and his family seem happy in New Jersey.
Sean Duffy would clear the decks. Every Republican would instantly rally around him, and he’d defeat whoever the Democrats run against him. Tom Tiffany is still a viable candidate who could win — but he needs to make a decision sooner, and then needs to make influential friends.
Chris Conley
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