Wisconsin governor candidates tangle over the economy, Trump and the 2020 election

Democrat David Crowley and Republican Tom Tiffany sparred Wednesday night during their sole debate in Wisconsin’s race for governor, sniping at one another on affordability, President Donald Trump, abortion, and the 2020 election.

Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, and Tiffany, a member of Congress representing a northern Wisconsin district, are running in a close race to succeed retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers — the first open gubernatorial race in the state since 2010.

The debate most prominently focused on economic issues, with each candidate taking aim at the other over whose policies would best bring down prices. Tiffany vowed to do so by undoing various tax increases and returning surplus dollars to residents, while Crowley advocated for a “a fair tax system” that would fund education, infrastructure and transportation.

Throughout Wednesday’s hourlong debate, Crowley frequently linked Tiffany to Trump and his policies — including the “big, beautiful bill,” tariffs and the war with Iran — that he said have raised prices in the state and nationally.Crowley also accused Tiffany of “doing the bidding” of “the billionaire class,” pointing to the donations he has received from Republican megadonors.

“When Congressman Tom Tiffany says he’s focusing on affordability, let’s be very clear: He voted for the big, ugly, bill that [helped] some of the highest earners here in the state of Wisconsin,” Crowley said, referring to the 2025 tax cut and spending bill that reduced funding for health care and food assistance programs in many states.

“We don’t need what is happening in Washington D.C. coming into the state of Wisconsin. It is very clear that he is working for Donald Trump and the billionaires who are funding his campaign,” Crowley added.

Tiffany retorted that “while my opponent” was “consistently focused on being against Donald Trump, I’m for Wisconsin — and rather than creating a bunch more programs that are going to end up taxing the people of Wisconsin more, I want to put more money in the taxpayers’ pockets.”

Later, he accused Crowley of sounding “like a socialist.” Following a competitive primary this summer in which he beat state Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, by fewer than 4,000 votes, Crowley had sought to downplay the policy differences between them as part of an effort to unite Democrats.

“I think it’s really important to know that he said there’s very little difference between me and Francesca Hong,” Tiffany said of his opponent on Wednesday night. “ That sounds like a socialist to me.”

Later in the debate, Tiffany was pressed on his votes to overturn the 2020 presidential election results as a member of Congress. Responding to questions from the moderators, Tiffany said, “One of the reasons that I did that is Zuckerbucks.”

After the 2020 election, Trump allies falsely claimed that the millions of dollars Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg donated to groups helping election administration offices was a front by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to help Joe Biden win the election. Wisconsin voters banned the use of private funds in election administration by ballot measure in 2024.

“Let’s be very clear — the Congressman just said that the only reason why he was willing to throw away hundreds of thousands of votes here in the state of Wisconsin is because he disagreed on how somebody spent money,” Crowley said.

“He has shown us that because of one disagreement, he’ll throw [votes] out,” Crowley added.

Abortion also emerged as a contentious topic. Tiffany said he would uphold the state’s current law, allowing abortion access through 20 weeks of pregnancy.

But in the House, Tiffany has supported so-called “heartbeat bills” that would ban abortion care at about six weeks of pregnancy. He said Wednesday that he would not sign legislation that would restrict abortion access at six weeks.

Crowley has said that as governor he would work together with the Legislature to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. He reiterated that plan Wednesday while also declining to say whether he’d signed a bill that would legalize abortion with no gestational limits.

“I don’t believe a law like that would ever actually reach my desk,” Crowley said.