The candidates for Wisconsin Governor met for their only debate.
Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany are seeking the state’s top job.
During opening statements, Crowley talked about his record on property taxes.
“Every single year we've been able to bring down the property tax rate, we delivered the largest property tax cut in history, and every single year we've balanced the budget,” said Crowley.’ “I did that by working with Democrats and Republicans on a bipartisan level to make sure that we can deliver for our communities. And that's what's really at stake with this election. This is about having a governor who's going to work for you.”
Tiffany discussed affordability, and said an existing state budget surplus should be returned to taxpayers.
“They overpaid into state government,” said Tiffany. “We should return that money to them. There's a surplus at the state level. I think taxpayers out there… they don't have a surplus in their bank accounts. We're going to end the 400-year property tax increase.Back in December, largest increase in property taxes in 30 years. We're taxing people out of their homes. Young people are not able to afford to buy a new home.”
The debate was organized by WISN Television in Milwaukee.
The full debate can be viewed at WisconsinEye, the state’s c-span type service to cover state government.
Also during the debate, Tiffany, who supported President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 loss in the battleground state said Wednesday he did it because of concerns with election funding from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
“One of the reasons that I did that is Zuckerbucks U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said in a debate, using a term coined by opponents of the money.
Tiffany also said he opposed certifying Wisconsin's election results because clerks in Milwaukee and Dane counties advised voters they could claim to be “indefinitely confined” due to the COVID-19 pandemic and receive absentee ballots without showing a photo ID.
More than 200 communities across Wisconsin received about $10 million in grants from the Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life to help run elections during the pandemic.
“That’s why I objected, because the people of the state of Wisconsin, they did not want that,” Tiffany said.
The debate exchange was an example of how Trump's false claims about election fraud and his attempt to prevent Joe Biden from taking office continue to ripple through American politics.
Tiffany’s opponent, Democrat David Crowley, said Tiffany’s explanation of his actions in 2020 was inadequate.
“He didn’t say anything nefarious was going on with our elections,” Crowley said. “He didn’t say anything happened throughout the process. He just didn’t like the fact of how money was being spent.”
Crowley said Tiffany can't be trusted to certify the results of the 2028 presidential election.
But Tiffany said, “I will certify the election in 2028 regardless of who the winner is.”
In 2024, Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment backed by Republicans that bans the use of private grant money to run elections.
Trump unsuccessfully tried to disqualify 220,000 absentee ballots from Milwaukee and Dane counties, a move Tiffany supported. Tiffany, who is endorsed by Trump, also voted against counting electoral votes in Pennsylvania and Arizona.
Five of the past seven presidential elections in Wisconsin have been decided by less than a percentage point. Trump won in 2024 and 2016, but lost in 2020.
