Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany is facing criticism for appearing to dodge democratic candidate David Crowley.
The Tiffany campaign has declined to participate in a debate sponsored by the Milwaukee County Intergovernmental Cooperation Council, TMJ4, and UW-Milwaukee. As of right now, the Tiffany campaign has said he will participate in one debate before Nov 3. Election. The cancellation followed the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation’s decision to cancel its own proposed gubernatorial debate.
Tiffany and Crowley have both agreed to participate in a debate on Oct. 21st at Marquette University Law School. The debate will be televised on WISN, and will be moderated by political reporters Matt Smith and Gerron Jordan. The one hour debate will include topics on cost of living, taxes, immigration enforcement, data centers and election security. (RELATED:Wisconsin Hospital Association Pushes Back on Hospital Price Transparency Report)
Tiffany has also publicly explained his reasoning. Speaking about the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association event, he said he believed one debate was sufficient to discuss the major issues facing Wisconsin. PBS Wisconsin reported that Tiffany described the approach as consistent with how he has handled debates during previous congressional campaigns. The same report noted that Crowley’s campaign wanted additional debates and criticized Tiffany for limiting the number of appearances.
Crowley’s campaign also said they were unavailable for the debate proposed by TMJ4. However, they were open to searching for new dates, and the Tiffany campaign is staying strong in their one debate position.
The Crowley campaign is using this opportunity to criticize Tiffany for “dodging.” Crowley’s campaign manager, Garren Randolph, has claimed that Tiffany is dodging questions about his record. Their characterization of the decision has been supported by outlets, despite Tiffany’s established reason for not doing more debates. (RELATED:Tom Tiffany Survives Emergency Plane Landing in Lake Wausau)
Over the past two elections, only one debate has taken place between the two candidates. Governor Tony Evers and GOP challenger Tim Michaels only engaged in one debate in 2022, and GOP Governor Scott Walker and Democratic Challenger Evers only participated in one in 2018. Having one debate between the challengers is not an unprecedented event either.
