1
00:00:02,236 --> 00:00:05,072
>> Republican candidate for
governor Tom Tiffany,

2
00:00:05,138 --> 00:00:09,476
continues his campaign
after he survived with only

3
00:00:09,543 --> 00:00:12,279
stitches. A crashed water
landing into Lake Wausau.

4
00:00:12,346 --> 00:00:15,449
When the private plane. He
was a passenger in lost

5
00:00:15,516 --> 00:00:20,254
power last Saturday. The
FAA is investigating.

6
00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:22,823
Senior political reporter
Zac Schultz. Tonight brings

7
00:00:22,890 --> 00:00:25,959
you interviews with both
candidates running for

8
00:00:26,026 --> 00:00:29,263
governor, starting with
current seventh District

9
00:00:29,329 --> 00:00:31,698
Congressman Tiffany. The
interview was conducted

10
00:00:31,765 --> 00:00:35,802
days before the crash.
>> Congresswoman Tiffany,

11
00:00:35,869 --> 00:00:38,338
>> Good to join you, Zac.
>> So immediately after the

12
00:00:38,405 --> 00:00:40,440
primary, a lot of the
attention on the race

13
00:00:40,507 --> 00:00:43,243
seemed to be focused on
data centers. But in the

14
00:00:43,310 --> 00:00:45,546
last few weeks, it seems
like it's shifted to

15
00:00:45,612 --> 00:00:47,581
traditional topics of taxes
and spending and crime. Do

16
00:00:47,648 --> 00:00:50,417
you think that will be the
standard issue that this

17
00:00:50,484 --> 00:00:52,986
election is decided on?
>> Yeah, I think it's those

18
00:00:53,053 --> 00:00:55,055
quality of life issues. I
mean, when we talk about

19
00:00:55,122 --> 00:00:57,457
all the time is
affordability,

20
00:00:57,524 --> 00:00:59,860
sense. And that's the
message that we're

21
00:00:59,927 --> 00:01:02,462
delivering out there. But
it is very much economic.

22
00:01:02,529 --> 00:01:05,232
It's kitchen table issues.
I mean, people see their

23
00:01:05,299 --> 00:01:07,301
budgets. They're they're
really stretched thin at

24
00:01:07,367 --> 00:01:10,971
this point. And that's
their concern. And I hear

25
00:01:11,038 --> 00:01:13,373
it from all the people that
are out knocking doors for

26
00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,543
us. They're like, it's
economic kitchen table

27
00:01:16,610 --> 00:01:18,145
issues. What people are
talking about.

28
00:01:18,212 --> 00:01:20,280
>> Now there's two
different definitions of

29
00:01:20,347 --> 00:01:22,649
affordability that the
parties have. Obviously,

30
00:01:22,716 --> 00:01:25,419
you're talking about taxing
and spending and the budget

31
00:01:25,485 --> 00:01:28,989
and Democrats are talking
about national tariffs and

32
00:01:29,056 --> 00:01:32,426
rising prices or gas prices.
Which do you think impacts

33
00:01:32,492 --> 00:01:34,328
people more?
>> Well, I think they both

34
00:01:34,394 --> 00:01:37,831
do. And, you know, gas
prices are too high. And,

35
00:01:37,898 --> 00:01:40,868
you know, those are largely
set on world markets. The

36
00:01:40,934 --> 00:01:42,736
thing that I've been
focused on is what can I do

37
00:01:42,803 --> 00:01:46,006
as governor? Because you
can flail on issues that

38
00:01:46,073 --> 00:01:48,342
you don't have a impact on.
I think it's very important

39
00:01:48,408 --> 00:01:51,311
to have a governor that is
going to be focused on the

40
00:01:51,378 --> 00:01:54,114
issues that you can help
people out with. And so if

41
00:01:54,181 --> 00:01:56,283
we're going to put more
money in people's pockets,

42
00:01:56,350 --> 00:01:58,285
that's why I've been
talking about let's reduce

43
00:01:58,352 --> 00:02:01,054
taxes and the 400 year
property tax increase, the

44
00:02:01,121 --> 00:02:03,624
$3 billion budget surplus
that we have, we should

45
00:02:03,690 --> 00:02:06,493
return every penny of it to
the taxpayers so they have

46
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,296
more money in their pockets.
We're going to do a 10%

47
00:02:09,363 --> 00:02:12,866
income tax cut for those
making $150,000 and less,

48
00:02:12,933 --> 00:02:15,536
and no taxes on tips and
overtime, just like we did

49
00:02:15,602 --> 00:02:16,904
federally.
>> Earlier this year. You

50
00:02:16,970 --> 00:02:19,806
had a tweet where you're in
front of the gas station,

51
00:02:19,873 --> 00:02:21,708
pumps and promises made,
promises kept. Obviously,

52
00:02:21,775 --> 00:02:23,644
prices have gone up
significantly since then.

53
00:02:23,710 --> 00:02:26,480
Do you regret that tweet or
is it just outside of your

54
00:02:26,547 --> 00:02:29,616
ability to control?
of our control. And you

55
00:02:29,683 --> 00:02:32,653
know, at that time, boy,
what was it like 235 or

56
00:02:32,719 --> 00:02:34,821
something like that. So gas
prices had gone down. They

57
00:02:34,888 --> 00:02:37,658
went up as a result of the
instability in the Middle

58
00:02:37,724 --> 00:02:42,462
East and Iran. And with the
Revolutionary Guard

59
00:02:42,529 --> 00:02:45,098
plinking a ship every now
and then in the Straits of

60
00:02:45,165 --> 00:02:48,435
Hormuz to keep gas prices
up. And so it's really

61
00:02:48,502 --> 00:02:52,306
important that we have more
energy that is being

62
00:02:52,372 --> 00:02:54,474
produced. And that's the
thing that I've been

63
00:02:54,541 --> 00:02:57,377
focused on, both state and
federally, is we have to be

64
00:02:57,444 --> 00:02:59,713
energy independent here in
America. So what can a

65
00:02:59,780 --> 00:03:03,116
governor do? A governor can
deal with the energy issue

66
00:03:03,183 --> 00:03:06,854
in regards to our utilities.
We've seen over $2 billion

67
00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:10,224
of increases in utility
rates here over the last

68
00:03:10,290 --> 00:03:12,259
eight years. The Public
Service Commission here in

69
00:03:12,326 --> 00:03:15,162
Wisconsin has just acted as
a rubber stamp for the

70
00:03:15,229 --> 00:03:18,198
utility rate increases. I
will not do that, and we

71
00:03:18,265 --> 00:03:21,635
can help make life more
affordable for

72
00:03:21,702 --> 00:03:25,672
Wisconsinites by not
raising those utility rates

73
00:03:25,739 --> 00:03:28,108
and getting back to keeping
our base load sources of

74
00:03:28,175 --> 00:03:30,344
power. And I think it's
time to embrace the new

75
00:03:30,410 --> 00:03:32,412
nuclear technologies.
>> Democrats would point to

76
00:03:32,479 --> 00:03:35,716
your role in Congress as
oversight, oversight, and

77
00:03:35,782 --> 00:03:38,185
control of the budget over
Donald Trump and tariffs

78
00:03:38,252 --> 00:03:41,154
and, you know, initiating
the war in Iran. What do

79
00:03:41,221 --> 00:03:43,824
you have to say to respond
about your role in Congress

80
00:03:43,891 --> 00:03:46,960
in that in that area?
>> Yeah. So, you know, if

81
00:03:47,027 --> 00:03:50,797
you take a look at the bill
that we passed last year,

82
00:03:50,864 --> 00:03:53,600
no taxes on tips and
overtime, as well as Social

83
00:03:53,667 --> 00:03:56,603
Security taxes, we
eliminated them for almost

84
00:03:56,670 --> 00:03:59,473
everyone that's on Social
Security. We've put more

85
00:03:59,540 --> 00:04:02,609
money into people's pockets.
I would also say that by

86
00:04:02,676 --> 00:04:05,913
securing the border,
hopefully we're going to

87
00:04:05,979 --> 00:04:08,849
see the price of housing
come down in some places.

88
00:04:08,916 --> 00:04:11,485
Because remember when 10
million people came in over

89
00:04:11,552 --> 00:04:15,022
the four years of President
Biden that that drove up

90
00:04:15,088 --> 00:04:19,326
the cost of housing because
they had to live somewhere.

91
00:04:19,393 --> 00:04:22,930
So those things are really
important that that we deal

92
00:04:22,996 --> 00:04:26,333
with them. But I'm focused
now on what I can do as

93
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,237
governor, and that is
reducing costs for

94
00:04:30,304 --> 00:04:31,738
Wisconsinites.
>> One of the issues your

95
00:04:31,805 --> 00:04:33,674
campaign has brought up
about David Crawley's

96
00:04:33,740 --> 00:04:35,809
record as Milwaukee County
executive has to do with

97
00:04:35,876 --> 00:04:39,213
crime, but crime statistics
nationwide and Wisconsin

98
00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,949
are down. Is Milwaukee
County a much different

99
00:04:42,015 --> 00:04:44,651
place than it was when, say,
Scott Walker was county

100
00:04:44,718 --> 00:04:46,753
executive?
>> So you look at the last

101
00:04:46,820 --> 00:04:49,056
year and a half, violent
crime has went down

102
00:04:49,122 --> 00:04:51,258
significantly here in
America. I mean, I think

103
00:04:51,325 --> 00:04:54,194
about Washington, DC,
having spent some time out

104
00:04:54,261 --> 00:04:58,098
there serving in Congress.
The streets are much safer.

105
00:04:58,165 --> 00:05:00,701
And that's because of the
actions that have been

106
00:05:00,767 --> 00:05:03,203
taken by the administration
to make sure that they're

107
00:05:03,270 --> 00:05:07,374
safe. And to me, it sends a
clear message we've

108
00:05:07,441 --> 00:05:10,477
accepted crime here in
America and in Wisconsin

109
00:05:10,544 --> 00:05:14,281
over the last few decades,
I believe. And we don't

110
00:05:14,348 --> 00:05:16,617
need to accept these high
crime levels as we're

111
00:05:16,683 --> 00:05:19,386
seeing them come down now.
And that's what I'll do as

112
00:05:19,453 --> 00:05:21,989
governor. We're not going
to accept crime. We're not

113
00:05:22,055 --> 00:05:24,391
going to take the side like
David Crowley. My opponent

114
00:05:24,458 --> 00:05:27,694
does, of the perpetrators
of crime. We're going to

115
00:05:27,761 --> 00:05:30,531
look out for the victims of
crime. Let's make sure that

116
00:05:30,597 --> 00:05:33,333
we have safe streets in
Wisconsin. That means

117
00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,869
prosecutors need to
prosecute. And that means

118
00:05:35,936 --> 00:05:39,072
no sanctuary cities. We
need to make sure that

119
00:05:39,139 --> 00:05:41,441
Wisconsin is a safe place
for people to live.

120
00:05:41,508 --> 00:05:43,877
>> How much responsibility
should the chief executive,

121
00:05:43,944 --> 00:05:47,314
either a county or a state,
take when it comes to

122
00:05:47,381 --> 00:05:50,384
individual actions
committed by individuals?

123
00:05:50,450 --> 00:05:54,354
>> Well, if you listen to
Judge Borowski last week in

124
00:05:54,421 --> 00:05:57,357
Milwaukee County, he talked
about how it's preposterous

125
00:05:57,424 --> 00:06:00,861
that this happened, that a
violent criminal was able

126
00:06:00,928 --> 00:06:04,765
to reach out to his victim
and communicate with him

127
00:06:04,831 --> 00:06:08,302
1500 times via the tablet
he was given by Milwaukee

128
00:06:08,368 --> 00:06:12,706
County that was signed off
in 2022 by David Crowley

129
00:06:12,773 --> 00:06:17,077
that they get a free tablet.
He renewed that once again

130
00:06:17,144 --> 00:06:20,948
in 2025, including after
what we found out in May of

131
00:06:21,014 --> 00:06:23,784
this year, that there were
violent criminals reaching

132
00:06:23,851 --> 00:06:28,088
out to their victims and
messaging them 1500 times,

133
00:06:28,155 --> 00:06:30,090
that should have been the
warning signal to the

134
00:06:30,157 --> 00:06:33,060
county executive. We got to
take another look at that.

135
00:06:33,126 --> 00:06:35,395
What happens in the
meantime? Now we find out a

136
00:06:35,462 --> 00:06:40,100
triple murderer is trying
to intimidate witnesses. So

137
00:06:40,167 --> 00:06:43,270
a county executive or the
governor has a great deal

138
00:06:43,337 --> 00:06:46,173
to do with safety. And I
think the big thing that

139
00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,675
the governor can do in
Wisconsin is set the

140
00:06:48,742 --> 00:06:51,178
message that we're going to
back up law enforcement.

141
00:06:51,245 --> 00:06:53,380
We're going to support them.
We're going to make sure

142
00:06:53,447 --> 00:06:55,516
that we have safe streets
here in Wisconsin.

143
00:06:55,582 --> 00:06:57,618
>> Would you invite Donald
Trump to campaign in

144
00:06:57,684 --> 00:07:00,053
Wisconsin? Do you think you
need him to burst, boost

145
00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,756
turnout in some of those
areas?

146
00:07:02,823 --> 00:07:05,559
going to decide where he's
going to campaign here in

147
00:07:05,626 --> 00:07:08,395
2026. In the balance of the
election, we just go out

148
00:07:08,462 --> 00:07:11,031
and do our job every day.
I've got a full schedule

149
00:07:11,098 --> 00:07:13,800
that's been set in place.
We're meeting every person

150
00:07:13,867 --> 00:07:16,703
that we can in the state of
Wisconsin, and we're

151
00:07:16,770 --> 00:07:20,407
talking about the issues
because, I mean, it's much

152
00:07:20,474 --> 00:07:23,577
like my opponent. You hear
him talk when he talks

153
00:07:23,644 --> 00:07:25,812
about Tom Tiffany. All he
talks about is Tom, Tiffany

154
00:07:25,879 --> 00:07:30,784
and Donald Trump. And he's
not talking about what do

155
00:07:30,851 --> 00:07:34,054
Wisconsinites want? So he
can rail against Donald

156
00:07:34,121 --> 00:07:36,957
Trump? I'm fighting for
Wisconsin, and that's what

157
00:07:37,024 --> 00:07:39,860
I will do. As governor.
We're going to make sure we

158
00:07:39,927 --> 00:07:42,529
do the things that are best
for the state of Wisconsin.

159
00:07:42,596 --> 00:07:45,232
And I've always went about
my business that way,

160
00:07:45,299 --> 00:07:47,601
whether I was in the state
legislature or now in

161
00:07:47,668 --> 00:07:52,139
Congress. The test is
always what's best for

162
00:07:52,206 --> 00:07:54,441
Wisconsin, and that's what
I'm going to do as governor.

163
00:07:54,508 --> 00:07:57,344
>> The United States Postal
Service has absentee

164
00:07:57,411 --> 00:07:59,646
balloting rules that are
currently in court and

165
00:07:59,713 --> 00:08:01,748
looks like they're heading
for the U.S. Supreme Court.

166
00:08:01,815 --> 00:08:04,318
Would you support those
changes going in place even

167
00:08:04,384 --> 00:08:06,420
as absentee ballots are
already being sent out in

168
00:08:06,486 --> 00:08:09,823
Wisconsin?
be up to the courts. It is

169
00:08:09,890 --> 00:08:12,726
in the courts at this point,
and they're going to decide

170
00:08:12,793 --> 00:08:15,596
what role is going to be
able to be played there.

171
00:08:15,662 --> 00:08:17,865
All I know is I have
confidence in clerks across

172
00:08:17,931 --> 00:08:20,501
the state of Wisconsin.
There's hundreds of them,

173
00:08:20,567 --> 00:08:23,303
and I've worked with them
in northern Wisconsin.

174
00:08:23,370 --> 00:08:26,907
Regardless of what rules
are put before them, they

175
00:08:26,974 --> 00:08:31,178
always go out and do their
job and I appreciate the

176
00:08:31,245 --> 00:08:33,347
work that they do.
>> Do you have complete

177
00:08:33,413 --> 00:08:35,249
confidence that our
elections in Wisconsin are

178
00:08:35,315 --> 00:08:37,017
free and fair and
legitimate?

179
00:08:37,084 --> 00:08:40,254
>> I believe that our
elections are going to be

180
00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:42,756
done in that fashion. I
mean, it should be easy to

181
00:08:42,823 --> 00:08:45,659
vote, but hard to cheat.
Now, there's been a couple

182
00:08:45,726 --> 00:08:47,728
instances. You look at
Madison, they had the city

183
00:08:47,794 --> 00:08:49,963
of Madison had to fire
their clerk two years ago

184
00:08:50,030 --> 00:08:52,599
because she failed to count
197 ballots. Green Bay has

185
00:08:52,666 --> 00:08:54,835
had a problem. Two
elections in a row with

186
00:08:54,902 --> 00:08:58,238
their clerk. I mean, we
have to be vigilant also,

187
00:08:58,305 --> 00:09:00,541
but I just know the
hundreds of clerks across

188
00:09:00,607 --> 00:09:04,611
the state of Wisconsin.
They do the very best job

189
00:09:04,678 --> 00:09:07,414
that they can.
>> Congressman Tiffany,

190
00:09:07,481 --> 00:09:11,118
>> Good to join you. Zac.
>> Both candidates for

191
00:09:11,185 --> 00:09:15,656
governor were interviewed
just before the U.S.