Tom Tiffany, Republican congressman representing Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, has finally made it official: He’s running for governor. 

The election for governor in 2026 is the state’s first open race for the office since 2010, and it’s sure to invite many candidates to run. And on the Republican side, Tiffany’s is the most significant announcement yet. There’s a very good chance that he is going to be the Republican nominee for governor at this time next year. 

If that proves to be the case, it would signify a major shift in the center of power for Republican politics in Wisconsin. For so long, it’s been the WOW counties — Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington, three of the counties that surround Milwaukee — that have been the Republican stronghold in the state. But if Tiffany is the one at the top of the ticket, it will be the most clear indicator yet of how the party has shifted from more of a suburban one, to one where GOP voters are more centered in exurban or rural areas. 

Find this and more analysis of Tiffany’s candidacy for governor in my latest column at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area's podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more on the Civic Media website.