The Primary Process is About Specifics and Believability

 

There are 2 candidates running as Republicans for Governor of Wisconsin in 2026.  Josh Schoemann is the Washington County Executive and Tom Tiffany is a Wisconsin Congressman.  In the November election, I will be voting for whoever wins the August Primary.  My vote in the Primary, like many other conservative Wisconsin voters, will be based on who, in my judgment, has the right priorities and a solid track record of performance that makes me believe he will actually deliver on the promises he’ll be making throughout the campaign.   I need a whole lot more than I’ve heard so far to make that call.

 

Last Sunday, JR Ross, Editor of WisPolitics, appeared on WISN’s UpFront to discuss the Gubernatorial race. He had nothing to say about substantive differences between Schoemann and Tiffany but called Tiffany the “front runner” because he has “name ID” and is generating “buzz from certain circles”.  He went on to say that what Tiffany has to do is show he is the guy that can raise the money to be competitive.  A sick acknowledgement of what’s wrong with our politics and why the voters rarely get what they are looking for in elected officials. 

 

Last week Mandela Barnes, 39, joined a crowded field of at least 5 other Democrats in the race for Democratic nominee for Governor.  He is an empty suit with a destructive, extreme liberal ideology who served as Lieutenant Governor for 4 years with Tony Evers.  He was described by the Associated Press as the “presumptive front runner” because of his name recognition and funding network. 

 

On the same day Barnes announced his candidacy, Josh Schoemann was interviewed on the Vicki McKenna Show and Tom Tiffany was interviewed on the Dan O’Donnell Show.  There was a stark difference in the tone and substance of the interviews. Schoemann dominated when it came to providing the kind of specifics that will arm the voters with the information they need to make an informed choice in August.

 

Schoemann took control of the McKenna interview from the start.  He talked about what is important to conservative voters and how he has responded as County Executive.  He has a track record in Washington County that is built on the promises he made as a candidate to make government smaller, put money in people’s pockets and be responsive to the people.  He’s not interested in what he described as the “political theater” engaged in by most politicians, opting instead to focus on policies that matter to people.  He ran on a commitment to make government smaller and more effective and used his interview time to provide specific details about the results he has achieved.  He connected the dots between campaign promises and actual performance.

 

A visit to Schoemann’s website further enhances voter understanding of his priorities and the solutions he is proposing in very specific terms. His plan is built on a strong foundation of quantifiable results achieved as County Executive.  It is noteworthy to the many Wisconsin voters, who understand we have a serious problem with the unverifiability of our elections, that Schoeman has made verifiability a priority in his campaign with specific actions he will undertake as Governor.  The foundation he has laid needs further development but is a great start.  (For more specifics on what is needed from our next governor on election verifiability, take a look at “Restoring Verifiable Elections”, the 7- point plan proposed by John Ellis on page 31 of the November/December issue of On Wisconsin Outdoors). http://www.onwisconsinoutdoors.com/Content/files/ArchivedIssues/2025-Nov-Dec_OnWIOutdoors.pdf

 

Tiffany was introduced by Dan O’Donnell as “the leading candidate for Governor” for the Republicans, a meaningless designation until the voters have enough substantive information to draw a distinction between the two candidates.  The interview was focused on Mandela Barnes’ entry into the race and what a lousy candidate he is.  Tiffany stressed Wisconsin has a poor business climate and too much regulation.  He called Barnes part of an administration that made it more expensive to live in Wisconsin but had no criticism for the legislature that has had Republican majorities in both Houses for years. O’Donnell failed to press Tiffany on why he is the candidate we should choose and Tiffany gave us little during this interview about specific actions he will take or evidence from his own performance to make us believe he can deliver.  When O’Donnell tried to get him to call on Barnes to “stand on principle and reject donations from billionaires” (a response to Barnes’ billionaire bashing in the past) Tiffany wouldn’t take the bait.  He will be accepting all of the money he can get from the billionaire donor class himself.   The interview was a missed opportunity for Tiffany to make his case to the voters.

 

A visit to Tiffany’s website promises he will “lead the state to prosperity” by addressing energy costs, manufacturing, education, the business climate, safety and more…all topics on the agenda of conservative voters.  The site offers little to help the voter understand what Tiffany will specifically do to address these issues and is silent on election verifiability, the issue the voters have made clear they want addressed as a priority.  Tiffany offers no evidence that he has the experience and operational skills required to manage the state’s mega-bureaucracy comprised of a $111 billion budget and 30,000 employees.  Executive leadership is very different work than legislating. He is going to have to significantly step up his game plan if he hopes to convince voters he is the best conservative choice.  We need solid information and we are in no mood for political speak.

 

No conservative voter is going to vote for whoever emerges as the Democratic candidate for Governor.  The time to discredit that candidate is after the Primary in August and the person to do it will be his or her opponent, the duly elected Republican nominee.  We the people are in the process of taking our country back.  We elected Donald Trump because he clearly spelled out what he would do as President and we knew from experience he does what he says he is going to do.  In the primary race for the Republican candidate for Wisconsin Governor, we need substantive details that will allow us to make an informed choice.  We need serious, credible interviewers to press the candidates for specifics; not soft-ball love fests. We are not interested in what the Party bosses, the big donors, the Wisconsin Congressional delegation or anyone else thinks about how we should vote or who certain circles are buzzing about.  We want to see the candidates side by side as often as possible to allow us to compare and contrast. We will use our own good judgment to make our best decision.  The candidates need to understand that the Primary process is about specifics and believability.  Whoever delivers on those will be our candidate.