Tom Tiffany Named His Abortion Limit and His Tax Cut. In Wisconsin's Only Governor Debate, David Crowley Named Neither.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican congressman running for governor of Wisconsin, walked into the only debate of the race Wednesday night with numbers: a five-month abortion limit, a 10% income tax cut, and a promise to hand back the state's $3 billion surplus. His Democratic opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, was asked for numbers of his own on abortion and taxes. He didn't give any.

The hourlong WISN-TV debate at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee was the last time the two will share a stage before Nov. 3. The seat is open because Democratic Gov. Tony Evers isn't running again, the first open governor's race in Wisconsin since 2010, and RealClearPolitics rates it a toss-up.

One answer, and one dodge, on abortion

Moderators asked Tiffany whether he would sign a six-week abortion ban. He said no, and pointed to the 20-week law already on Wisconsin's books. "I voted for a five-month bill when I was in the state Senate. I will uphold that law as the governor of the state of Wisconsin," he said. "All you women out there, you will not have to hold your breath when I'm governor," per Fox News.

Then the same question came to Crowley, who wants abortion rights written into the state constitution: would he sign a bill allowing abortion with no gestational limit? "These are discussions that need to be made between a doctor and a patient," he said. Pressed again, he offered this: "I don't believe a law like that would ever actually reach my desk," WPR reported.

That isn't an answer. It's a guess about the Legislature. Tiffany pounced. "David just dodged the question again. He refuses to say how many months will he stand for, because from what I'm hearing, he's up to … the full nine months is his answer," WPR reported. Later: "We once again did not hear where David Crowley stands on abortion," per Fox News.

The $3 billion question

Wisconsin is sitting on a projected surplus of about $3 billion. Tiffany wants every dollar of it back with taxpayers. "We should return all of that to the taxpayers. They've overpaid into the state of Wisconsin," he said, per Fox News. His plan cuts income and property taxes, including a 10% income tax cut for families making under $150,000, and he wants permanent cuts, not rebate checks. "People don't plan their futures based on one-time checks," he said.

Crowley was asked whether he would add a new top tax bracket. He pivoted to Tiffany's vote for President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, then called for an overhaul of the state tax system. WISN reporter Matt Smith, one of the moderators, cut in: "Do you have a number and a percentage?" Crowley's reply: "What I have is … that we have to make sure that we're working with the state Legislature to make sure that we're creating a fair and taxable system that works for all income earners," WPR reported.

It was like asking a contractor for a quote and getting a speech about teamwork. Tiffany had already framed the record. "Taxes have went up every single year that David Crowley has been county executive. You know what he's going to do as governor," he said in his opening. Crowley said he was proud of his bipartisan deals, including one that raised the county sales tax. He also said he was open to new transportation user fees and tolls. Tiffany said no to tolls, new fees and indexing the gas tax to inflation, Wisconsin Watch reported.

ICE: 'They should honor detainers'

The sharpest split came on immigration. Tiffany said he would require local sheriffs to hold criminal illegal immigrants for federal agents. "I will make sure that local, county and state law enforcement coordinate with federal law enforcement," he said. Asked whether he would make that mandatory by law: "Yes, I believe we should. They should honor detainers," per Fox News.

Crowley said immigrants convicted of crimes should be deported. But he called for ending contracts between local law enforcement and ICE, barring agents from wearing masks and requiring judicial warrants before they could enter jails and prisons. "We need to make sure that we're protecting people's civil liberties," he said. WPR reported that Crowley said local law enforcement should not enter into detainer agreements at all.

'Not familiar' with the DSA

Crowley won his August primary over Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist state lawmaker, by fewer than 4,000 votes, and afterward said there was little difference between them, NBC News reported. Moderators asked which parts of the Democratic Socialists of America platform he supports. "I'm not familiar with the DSA platform to be answering that question," Crowley said. Tiffany's response: "That sounds like a socialist to me."

On data centers, Tiffany says he has opposed the state's sales tax break for them, worth about $2 billion, all year. "Why would some of the wealthiest companies in the world need subsidies from the taxpayers of Wisconsin?" he asked. Crowley now says he would sign the Republican bill repealing it, after previously saying only that he would review the break. Tiffany pointed out the switch came in the past week, Wisconsin Watch reported. "I will not put my finger to the wind when making decisions like this," Tiffany said.

Zuckerbucks, and the vote that settled it

Moderators pressed Tiffany on his 2021 votes objecting to the 2020 results. He named the reason: "Zuckerbucks." "I objected to Mark Zuckerberg putting $15 million in, primarily … blue cities, not spreading it out throughout the state," he said. Crowley called that throwing away votes over "how somebody spent money." Wisconsin voters, though, sided with Tiffany on the money itself: in 2024 they approved a ballot measure banning private funding of election administration, NBC News noted.

Twelve days left

The race is close. A late-September Marquette Law School poll had Crowley at 49% and Tiffany at 46% among likely voters, inside the margin of error, with about 5% undecided. The next Marquette poll comes out Oct. 28. Wisconsinites are already voting: more than 55,000 cast in-person early ballots on the first day, up from about 33,000 at the same point in 2022, Wisconsin Watch reported.

Tiffany closed with the story of last month's emergency plane landing on Lake Wausau, when a rescue boat reached him and the pilot 16 minutes after the 911 call. "Ladies and gentlemen, I saw the best of Wisconsin that night. As your next governor, I'm going to make sure you see the best of Wisconsin," he said. Crowley closed by tying Tiffany to Trump and "the billionaires," then signed off with "go Brewers."

In a state that settles governors' races by a point or two, voters who tuned in Wednesday got a plain choice: one candidate who named his limits, his tax cut and his position on ICE, and one who kept telling them he would figure it out later with the Legislature.