Rep. Tom Tiffany is one step closer to capturing the governor's mansion in battleground Wisconsin for the Republican Party.
Tiffany, a hard-right member of the House Freedom Caucus who is backed by President Donald Trump, on Tuesday topped medical service technician Andy Manske to secure the Republican gubernatorial nomination, the Associated Press reported.
Tiffany is expected to face off in the general election against far-left state Rep. Francesca Hong, who is likely to win the Democratic nomination for governor.
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The winner in November will succeed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who decided against seeking a third term in office. The race is a top gubernatorial flip opportunity for the GOP.
Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), is running on a platform that includes guaranteed paid leave, boosting the state's minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 per hour, and a one-year moratorium in Wisconsin on building AI data centers. Hong has faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police. But she says she no longer supports cutting police budgets or abolishing police departments.
"I'm not defunding the police, not abolishing police. I am serious about public safety," Hong emphasized on Saturday as she took questions from voters.
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Hong also made national headlines over the past two weeks for a resurfaced social media post from 2020 where she argued that the country should "cancel Thanksgiving" in order to "stop celebrating colonialism."
Hong walked back her Thanksgiving comments, amid backlash, and now says that Thanksgiving is her "favorite holiday."
On her resurfaced tweets, Hong told reporters on Saturday that she has "evolved" and "learned."
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Pro-GOP super PACs, including one aligned with the Republican Governors Association, shelled out millions of dollars to boost Hong in the primary, as they viewed her as the weakest Democratic candidate.
In a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the primary, Tiffany said his state would be "the firewall… We’ll be the place that stops socialism."
And Tiffany, who grew up on a dairy farm, added, "Some people may not agree with a few of the policies that I'm for, but they know I'm genuine. They know I'm authentic."
