Rep Tom Tiffany claims Kamala Harris' visit signals weakness in David Crowley’s Wisconsin campaign

Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent trip to Wisconsin to stump for Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley shows his campaign is struggling to rally voters, according to his Republican opponent, Rep. Tom Tiffany.

Harris arrived in the key battleground state Monday to campaign alongside Crowley in Milwaukee just eight days before Election Day.

"For the last year and a half, I know many of us have been going through a whole lot of emotion: anger, sadness, disappointment, destruction, depression, all kinds of emotions," Harris told supporters at Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel. 

"And we've been feeling powerless. People have been feeling like, ‘I can't do anything about this.’ And I know how much pain people are in. I know how it is creating so much fear among so many communities of people."

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a Women for Crowley campaign event hosted by Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley at the Pfister Hotel on Monday in Milwaukee, Wis. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Tiffany asserted that Harris was brought in to energize a Democratic base where Crowley’s campaign has lagged amid a sense of national political fatigue caused by polarization and endless campaign messaging.

"This is clearly a move that says that they're struggling to get their base to vote. David Crowley has not excited the base," Tiffany told Fox News Digital.

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Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley, left, and Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany shake hands after a debate Oct. 21, 2026, in Milwaukee. (Lizzy Larson/AP Photo)

Critics and political opponents have accused Crowley of being handpicked by Democratic leaders, including Gov. Tony Evers, as a centrist alternative to more progressive candidates such as state Rep. Francesca Hong, whom Crowley narrowly defeated in the primary.

The critique echoes challenges Harris faced during her own presidential bid.

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"It was, once again, the Democrats that pulled somebody off the bench," Tiffany said. "They handpicked them rather than letting democracy work in their own party, and there's people very frustrated with that. They're trying to excite their base, and it's a problem for them."

Tiffany has framed himself as a commonsense candidate while targeting Crowley, the current Milwaukee County executive, over local economic conditions.

Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, speaks at a campaign event in Oconomowoc, Wis., Aug. 10, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

"It's not in his DNA to reduce costs for people in Wisconsin or to reduce taxes," Tiffany said. "He is going to raise taxes. That's what he's done every single year when he's been county executive. That's not what people want to hear. "

A spokesperson for Crowley's campaign pushed back in a statement to Fox News Digital, highlighting his efforts to detail his affordability plans amid inflation and blaming Tiffany and the Trump administration.

"David Crowley is criss-crossing the state to discuss his plan to lower costs for working families who are struggling to pay their bills because of Congressman Tom Tiffany and Donald Trump’s unaffordable MAGA agenda," the spokesperson said. 

"David has spent his career lowering costs for working families, including balancing the budget and lowering the property tax rate every single year as county executive.

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"Meanwhile, Tom Tiffany went to Washington and sold out working Wisconsinites to give the same billionaires funding his campaign massive tax breaks."