GLAAD and Fair Wisconsin have documented the LGBTQ records of the candidates for governor of Wisconsin, David Crowley and Tom Tiffany.
David Crowley
(D) Milwaukee County Executive
June 1, 2026: Released a video to celebrate Pride Month: “This month we celebrate the LGBTQ community and the countless ways LGBTQ individuals make Milwaukee County stronger and more vibrant… we celebrate you, we support you, and we are proud to stand alongside you.”
—October 6, 2025: Promised to prioritize repealing the dormant state ban on marriage equality if elected governor: “I will call a special session of the Legislature to focus squarely on repealing this ban. This fight cannot wait. Wisconsin deserves leaders who will protect families and defend equality, not gamble away people’s rights at the whim of Justice Clarence Thomas and a radical Supreme Court.”
—April 18, 2023: Included LGBTQ people in his monthly community meeting “Coffee with the County Executive” discussing important issues like domestic violence and violence against the LGBTQ community: “when we’re talking about domestic violence, whether we’re talking about women, women of color or trans community, it’s really about one having the conversation and understanding what resources are really out there for individuals.”
—March 29, 2023: Signed a resolution to note Milwaukee County’s opposition to the discredited practice of so-called conversion therapy, adding a statement: “The discrimination, prejudice, and tragic violence directed at the LGBTQ+ community has no place here- or anywhere.”
—June 30, 2022: Issued a statement at the conclusion of Pride Month to support LGBTQ people and protect access to reproductive health care following the Supreme Court decision rolling back the protections of Roe v Wade: “The signal from the court is a further betrayal of the promise of equal rights and protection made to every American. At a time when LGBTQI+ members of our community are under threat of violence, it is unacceptable for the highest court in the land to embolden bigotry and hatred by putting a target on the rights of millions of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender brothers and sisters.”
Rep. Tom Tiffany
(R ) Wisconsin 07 (2020-present)
—September 10, 2026: A fact check from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel details how Tiffany tried to overturn the 2020 election to support Pres. Trump, who has amassed more than 600 attacks against LGBTQ Americans in policy and rhetoric. The report also notes Tiffany has refused to criticize Pres. Trump’s baseless attacks on mail-in voting, already underway in Wisconsin. Tiffany was endorsed by Pres. Trump in January 2026, who posted that Tiffany “has always been at my side.” The Associated Press reported that “Tiffany has been a fierce Trump loyalist since he was elected to Congress in 2020.”
—Tiffany has received a 100% score and a 96% lifetime average from national anti-LGBTQ group Heritage Foundation, including for his 2022 votes against marriage equality. Heritage wrote and advanced “Project 2025” that called for censoring and targeting LGBTQ Americans across every federal agency, demanding ideological adherence against LGBTQ acceptance to federal funding for research and community resources, and firing federal employees based on ideology.
—September 9, 2026: Rejected an invitation to debate hosted by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA). The WBA has hosted gubernatorial debates for the last 36 years.
—August 28, 2026: Did not respond to media questions about whether he supports Trump-imposed tariffs or if he believed tariffs were in the state’s best interest. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation found tariffs under the Trump administration raised household taxes by an average of $1,000 in 2025. Tariffs disproportionately impact LGBTQ consumers and business owners. Many queer-owned brands operate with smaller profit margins devastated by rising supply costs associated with tariffs, and operate in industries including retail, apparel, and specialty goods that rely on imported materials.
—August 27, 2026: A review of Tiffany’s environmental record shows he consistently advanced policy “to explicitly benefit the interests of extractive industries such as mining and logging,” Wisconsin Examiner reported, including authoring bills to ban local governments from regulating mining, pushing to open public land to gas and oil drilling, and blocking projects for clean energy production including the use of wind and solar energy. LGBTQ people are at disproportionate risk of negative impacts from extraction and fossil fuels pollution, which exacerbate existing health disparities. LGBTQ people are at greater risk in climate disasters due to having fewer personal and governmental resources to prepare for and recover from those disasters.
—June 30, 2026: Praised the U.S. Supreme Court for its decision to uphold two state bans against transgender students participating in school sports and promised to sign a ban passed in Wisconsin. Enforcement of these laws can include invasive gender inspections of all girls and women.
—June 23, 2026: Misgendered transgender women and girls in a post about the anniversary of the passage of Title IX prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in federally-funded education programs and activities. In June 2024, Tiffany introduced a joint resolution to rescind Title IX protections that included protections for students filing sex discrimination claims and protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
—June 3, 2026: Promised to ban flying the Pride flag, hours after it was raised at the state capitol to mark the start of Pride month. Retiring Gov. Tony Evers was the first governor in state history to fly the Pride flag at the capitol in 2019.
—May 26, 2026: Claimed that people convicted in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, might be owed restitution from a taxpayer-funded slush fund created by the Trump administration. Tiffany also backed a proposed FBI probe into the 2020 vote and would not say whether Joe Biden won the presidency. Pres. Trump blanket pardoned more than 1,500 defendants involved in the January 6th attacks; at least 97 of them have been arrested, charged, or convicted of additional crimes according to Lawfare including child molestation, sex crimes, and crimes related to child sexual abuse material. Tiffany voted against certifying 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, baselessly promoted claims of illegal voting, promoted an FBI probe of voting, and said he would not have certified Wisconsin’s 2020 results.
—March 6, 2026: Spoke up in favor of the Trump administration’s federal investigation into a local school district’s policies supporting transgender students, launched after complaints from disgraced book ban group “Moms for Liberty.” Transgender and nonbinary teens face greater risk of sexual assault in schools that ban them from restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. There is no evidence of safety risks for cisgender people in inclusive restrooms.
—In 2017 as a member of the State Senate, Tiffany voted to rescind protections in child labor labor law, including the requirement that 16- and 17-year-olds get parental permission before obtaining a work permit.
—Quote tweeted disgraced book banning group Moms for Liberty that misgendered and made false claims about policies that support the safety of trans people and youth: “As the father of three daughters, this nonsense will end when I am governor.”
—Consistently voted to restrict access to reproductive health care including five yes votes on restrictive bills in 2025 and multiple votes in 2023 disparaging the miscarriage and abortion medication mifepristone. Tiffany voted for Wisconsin’s ban on abortion while in the state senate in 2015, and cosponsored a federal bill in 2023 that would have made it a crime for doctors to perform abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Abortion is an LGBTQ issue; LGBTQ people can and do get pregnant and need reproductive and maternal health care.
—December 18, 2025: voted for the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act, or SPEED Act, aimed at making it easier to get federal permits to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence projects. The bill limits regulation like the National Environmental Policy Act requiring assessment of environmental impacts of projects before making decisions about them. AI data centers rely heavily on fossil-fuel energy that increases the risk of local pollution and threatens public health in already vulnerable communities and locations. Research shows a long history of state regulators and utilities exploiting monopolies and secret contracts to attract Big Tech investments that transfer resulting rising energy costs to utility customers. LGBTQ people are already at disproportionate risk of financial hardship due to employment and other discrimination, resulting in difficulty affording food and rising utilities’ costs.
—July 2025: Voted for a budget bill that cut health care and food assistance for millions of Americans to fund tax cuts for select wealthy people and corporations. 1.8 million LGBTQ Americans are affected as are people living with HIV. LGBTQ people and families also experience food insecurity and participate in food assistance programs at higher rates than non-LGBTQ people.
—May 22, 2025: Cast the deciding vote to pass a version of the Trump budget bill that bans states from enforcing laws regulating artificial intelligence for the next decade.
—March 7, 2024: Co-sponsored a resolution to restrict federal funds from being used for certain gender transition procedures for minors. Procedures are exceedingly rare for transgender youth, whose care is supported by every major medical association. Tiffany cited the handful of people who frequently travel to give paid testimony about regretting their transition care. More than 98% of transgender people say they are satisfied with their care. Research shows the care has multiple benefits for trans youth health and wellbeing.
—July 21, 2022: voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. The legislation was proposed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurrence that the Court should also reconsider landmark LGBTQ decisions including Obergefell v. Hodges legalizing marriage equality nationwide. Tiffany described the Respect for Marriage Act as “a cheap attempt to fearmonger Americans.” Tiffany voted against the final bill in December 2022, which passed the House and Senate and was signed into law.
—June 17, 2021: voted against establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday to celebrate the full emancipation of Black people in the U.S., claiming the holiday will “fuel separatism.”
—June 10, 2021: voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act requiring employers to prove why a pay disparity exists among its employees and offering workers recourse if they believe employers are paying them unfairly. Women continue to earn about 81 cents for every $1 white men earn, with women of color earning even less. 22% of LGBTQ Americans say they are not paid equally or promoted at the same rates as peers.
—March 17, 2021: voted against The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which funds shelters, rape crisis centers, and legal support for survivors of abuse.
—February 25, 2021: voted against the Equality Act, which would have added federal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations.
Additional Background
- 304,100 LGBTQ people live in Wisconsin; 5.7% of adult population
- 29% of LGBTQ people are raising children (Movement Advancement Project)
GLAAD ALERT Desk (Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker)
- Since June 2022, GLAAD’s ALERT Desk has tracked 75 anti-LGBTQ incidents in the state of Wisconsin, including three violent assaults, three bomb threats, and one attempted arson attack. Incidents include:
- An arson attempt targeting the Pride flag flying outside the Outagamie County Government Center in Appleton;
- A series of bomb threats targeting a middle school in Waukesha, after it was revealed that the school had hired an LGBTQ employee;
- An attempt to ban a high school symphony in Watertown from playing a song written about trans rights icon Martha P. Johnson.
About Fair Wisconsin:
Founded in 1994, Fair Wisconsin is Wisconsin’s only statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights and political advocacy organization. Fair Wisconsin works to achieve, advance, and protect LGBTQ+ equality and liberation through grassroots organizing, education, legislative advocacy, and strategic electoral involvement.
