Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) is leading among Republican and Democrat candidates running to be the next governor of Wisconsin in 2026, according to a recent poll.
A Platform Communications/Badger Battleground Poll that surveyed 500 likely General Election voters between September 28-30, 2025, found that Tiffany led potential Republican candidates with 30 percent of support for the Republican Gubernatorial Primary race. On the Democrat side, former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) led potential Democrat candidates with 16 percent of support.
On the Republican side, former Wisconsin Senate candidate and businessman Eric Hovde came in second after Tiffany, with 14 percent of support. Businessman Tim Michels came in third with nine percent of support. Nine percent of voters said they would pick “none of these” candidates, while 34 percent of Republican voters said they were undecided.
On the Democrat side, current Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) — who announced in July that she was jumping into the gubernatorial race — came in second with eight percent of support. Twelve percent of voters said they would pick “none of these” candidates, while 38 percent of Democrats said they were undecided.
The poll also found that among a Generic Gubernatorial Ballot, Republicans led with 43 percent of support, while Democrats received 40 percent of support.
“The Republican Party is viewed net favorably (48 percent favorable-44 percent unfavorable) while the Democratic Party is viewed unfavorably by a solid majority of voters (37 percent favorable-54 percent unfavorable),” a memo from Platform Communications said.
The poll also found that roughly 46 percent of voters revealed they “identified as MAGA.”
The results of the poll come as Tiffany announced in September that he is running to be the next governor of Wisconsin. Tiffany’s announcement came after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) announced in July he would not be seeking reelection.
Breitbart News reported that in Tiffany’s campaign video announcing his run for governor, he highlighted how he had grown up “on a dairy farm in western Wisconsin,” and how the state gave him “everything.” Tiffany also “pledged to freeze property taxes” and to “protect Wisconsin farmland from purchases by communist China”:
He pledged to freeze property taxes, protect Wisconsin farmland from purchases by communist China, and preserve what he called Wisconsin values. He vowed that “girl sports will stay for girls” and added, “Moms will be moms not inseminated persons, and common sense will win,” referencing budget language backed by Democrats earlier this year that replaced the word “mother” with “inseminated person” in state statute.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in June that “sources” said Hovde and Michels were considering runs for Wisconsin governor, though Brian Schimming, who serves as the chairman for the Wisconsin Republican Party, “cast doubt on the likelihood of a Michels run.”
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