(The Center Square) – Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann was the leader in a WisPolitics straw poll to be Wisconsin’s Republican Party candidate for governor in 2026.
The poll was taken at the Republican Party of Wisconsin convention with 38% of those responding with 110 votes. Schoemann announced his candidacy in early May.
Second in the voting was U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, WI-7th Congressional, with 103 votes.
“I am grateful for the support of Wisconsin’s grassroots activists, which are so critical to winning Wisconsin,” Schoemann said in a statement to The Center Square. “We are so proud of the support from activists across the state who have joined our team in the first two weeks and we are excited about how many people joined our team this weekend.
Schoemann has said he wants to keep young people in the state and stop retirees from moving out. He wants to flatten the state’s income tax on a path to remove it.
“As I have traveled all over Wisconsin, so many of the people I have met believe that fresh ideas and energy are what we need to make Wisconsin a great place to be, not just be from,” Schoemann said.
Gov. Tony Evers has not said yet if he will run for a third term, saying he will wait until budget negotiations are complete before making an announcement.
Republicans are currently waiting on an in-person meeting with Evers to discuss the budget and a tax-cut plan in the state.
