Republican Tom Tiffany agreed to one TV debate on Oct. 21, but declined a TMJ4 town hall debate. The Oct. 8 debate would have included questions from city, suburban, and rural voters across the state.
RELATED: Wisconsin gubernatorial debate on Oct. 8 will ‘not take place as planned’
Democratic nominee David Crowley was willing to take part in the TMJ4 debate. It was proposed by the Milwaukee County Intergovernmental Cooperation Council (ICC), a longstanding group of mayors and village presidents from communities within Milwaukee County.
Watch Charles Benson's report in the video player below:
TMJ4's Chief Political Reporter Charles Benson asked Tiffany why only one debate, and if he thought debates have lost value with voters.
"I don't know how voters view it," Tiffany said. "I just think that one debate is going to be able to cover the issues — but there's a bigger issue here, and it goes back to my trip Saturday night."
Saturday night, Tiffany was flying home from a campaign event when the small plane he was on made an emergency splash landing on a lake.
"We are covering every part of the state. I made a commitment to the people of Wisconsin that I was going to cover all 72 counties. I was not going to ignore any of them, from Milwaukee to Minong, Grant County to Green Bay, Madison to Minocqua — I'm going to every part of the state," Tiffany said.
Crowley's campaign manager Garren Randolph pushed back on Tiffany's decision to limit debate appearances.
"Congressman Tom Tiffany is refusing more debates because he doesn't want to face voters and answer tough questions ... about his record of supporting an endless war that's resulting in record-high gas and diesel costs," Randolph said in a statement.
The ICC said it wanted to make the debate happen for voters. Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy, a Democrat, is on the ICC and expressed his disappointment in a Substack post called "Conversations with a Mayor."
"It is unfortunate because this particular debate was designed to ask questions that rarely get asked of candidates for Governor — questions about the relationship between state government and the local governments that actually deliver so many of the services Wisconsinites depend upon every day," Kennedy said.
The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association gubernatorial debate was also canceled. The WBA has held political debates for decades.
The one televised debate in the 2026 governor's race is scheduled for Oct. 21 on WISN at Marquette University.
This story was reported on-air by Charles Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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