August 18, 2025

Rep. Tom Tiffany Erases Abortion, Gun Rights And Other Issues From Personal Website

“The Wayback Machine, which preserves snapshots of websites, shows that Tiffany had a webpage as of Sept. 17 that listed a bunch of hot-botton issues…[including] abortion…But check tomtiffany.com today, and you’ll notice that the ‘issues’ page is gone…The new ‘solutions’ page makes no mention of…abortion.”

MADISON, Wis. — Today, a new report details how GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany desperately tried to cover up his unpopular abortion record just before launching his campaign for governor by deleting the issue entirely from his website. When Tiffany announced his campaign on a right-wing radio show late last month, he walked back his position on abortion, and then in subsequent interviews, gave various answers, including saying he’d “evaluate” legislation that tightened Wisconsin’s abortion restrictions. Tiffany has a history of supporting extreme abortion restrictions, even co-sponsoring a bill that would ban abortion after six weeks and made no exceptions for rape or incest.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rep. Tom Tiffany erases abortion, gun rights and other issues from personal website
 

By: Dan Bice | 10/6/25

Key details below: 

• When you’ve been in state and federal office for as long as U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, it’s impossible to erase your political past.

• But you can certainly try.

• The Wayback Machine, which preserves snapshots of websites, shows that Tiffany had a webpage as of Sept. 17 that listed a bunch of hot-botton issues and his positions on them. That includes abortion, gun rights, immigration, crime and communist China.

• But check tomtiffany.com today, and you’ll notice that the “issues” page is gone, replaced by a list of bland “solutions,” such as “Protect what makes Wisconsin great” and “Lower costs for every Wisconsinite.” The new “solutions” page makes no mention of guns, one mention of immigration and China and nothing on the deficit or abortion.

• But here’s what is interesting about this: Tiffany and his team made the switch in the days leading up to his announcement on Sept. 23 that he is running as a Republican for Wisconsin governor in 2026.

• Tiffany, 67, is now the highest profile Republican in the contest. Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann is on the campaign trail, and former Navy SEAL and Whitefish Bay manufacturing CEO Bill Berrien has dropped out. Eight Democrats have announced their plans to run for governor, too.

• Wiscconsin [sic] Democrats were quick to call out Tiffany for softening his web page in light of his gubernatorial bid.

• “Tariff Tom is scrubbing his website of abortion and other issues because he knows he’s going to have to deceive voters about his extreme record if he’s going to win next November,” said Philip Shulman, spokesman for the state Democratic Party. “Wisconsinites can’t take Tariff Tom at his word, and we’re going to make sure they know his true record.”

• But a staffer for Tiffany said there is nothing unusual going on here.

• The circumstances changed, so it was time to update the website.

• “Congressman Tiffany’s website and issues/solutions page were updated to reflect that he is running for governor, as all candidates do,” said a spokeswoman for Tiffany. “Tom has been clear on where he stands on every issue and has nothing to hide. It’s clear who Democrats view as the frontrunner in 2026.”

• So it’s just a pivot by someone who’s now running for higher office.

• That might make sense if Tiffany, a Minocqua Republican, hadn’t spent the days after his announcement dancing away from his past positions on abortion.

• Tiffany’s views on abortion have shifted

• Until recently, there was no doubt about his view on abortion rights.

• He has been endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life and Wisconsin Family Action and has an A+ grade from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America for his tenure in Congress.

• “I will always stand for life and support legislation that protects the unborn,” Tiffany tweeted on Dec. 1, 2021.

• But now Tiffany says he wants to stick with the current law in Wisconsin. The state Supreme Court recently overturned the state’s 1849 abortion law, reverting Wisconsin to the 2015 law banning most abortions after 20 weeks. Tiffany voted for that measure.

• “So the current law is the 20-week bill or five months, and I stand by that bill, and I will uphold that legislation,” Tiffany told WISC-TV (Channel 3) in Madison on Sept. 24. “As the governor, I do not plan any changes.”

• But Tiffany has a voting record of more than a decade in the state Legislature and Congress of voting for or attaching his name to a variety of more restrictive anti-abortion measures. Some of his actions weren’t so long ago.

• In 2022, he put his name on a federal bill that would have banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with an exception for the life of the mother but not for victims of rape and incest. A year later, he co-sponsored another federal bill that sought the same limits to abortion access but added exceptions for rape and incest.

• Tiffany also co-sponsored a national 15-week abortion ban in 2022.

• The Journal Sentinel recently reported that some Republicans have expressed concern that Tiffany’s past hardline positions could elevate the issue in the 2026 election and create a drag on the Republican ticket.

• But when asked directly by conservative talk show host Dan O’Donnell about his support for the 2022 proposal to ban abortions after six weeks with no exceptions for rape and incest, Tiffany distanced himself from the bill, which was called the “Heartbeat Protection Act” of 2021.

• “So that is not my position,” Tiffany said. “And you know this — when I talk to friends, relatives and constituents, this is really a personal issue.”

• O’Donnell asked if he would veto a bill with a ban on abortions after five or six weeks. “I’m going to uphold the law that is currently in place. That’s the position that I’m going to take,” Tiffany said.

• The issue came up again on WISN-TV’s “Upfront” on Sept. 23.

• “You previously supported abortion after six weeks. Is that no longer your position?” asked reporter Matt Smith.

• “I think there’s been some back and forth, like any piece of legislation, that there’s various proposals that are put out,” Tiffany said. “But the law now in Wisconsin is you can have an abortion up to five months. I voted for that bill in, 10 years ago, when I was in the state Legislature. I stand by that vote, and I’ll stand by it as governor.”

• But what if the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill that set the ban at less than 20 weeks, Smith asked.

• “I’d have to evaluate it,” Tiffany said. “But it is not my goal to change anything.”

• Except, of course, his own personal website and any mention of abortion on it.

Source: https://wisdems.org/news/ 

October 10, 2025

Everyone will be affected by this.

Transcript:

Smith: I’m Jeff Smith, State Senator, 31st Senate District as you may know. And this is Congressman Mark Pocan who is with me today. And he has been making the rounds, particularly in my district, the 3rd CD, because we haven’t heard from our congressman about what the subsidies, or lack of subsidies, is going to do to Wisconsin and to his constituents. 

Pocan: Yeah, I mean right now is a crucial time. The big ugly law, about 15 million people are going to lose access to health insurance. Everyone’s going to pay more for their health insurance. But between now and about mid-October, we’re going to get all the new rate increases for the Affordable Care Act and for group policies. And I’m already hearing, one group in Madison told me Friday night, they got a 41% group rate increase, and people on the Affordable Care Act are really going to get hurt. 

Smith: And they’re going to be getting those notices from now to through January, right?

Pocan: Yeah, mostly this month because they usually bill you a little early, and I think by October 17th the Affordable Care Act rate increases will come to the state. 

Smith: Yeah, and I’ve heard some people could be increased by up to $24,000 in a single year. That is absolutely nuts. We have 230,000 people who do depend on the Affordable Care Act subsidies now in Wisconsin alone. But it affects everybody, doesn’t it Mark?

Pocan: Yeah because if you have people who don’t have health insurance, and they’re saying 15 million people won’t have health insurance across the country, like they’re not going to get sick. So they go to the hospital, but then no one pays the hospital. You already have a problem in your area, you’ve lost a couple of hospitals in Eau Claire. This is going to cost hospitals across the country $434 billion, and all the Republicans did is put a $50 billion Band-Aid on it. So one out of $9 is fixed, but the other eight out of nine isn’t. And that means we’re all going to pay more to make up for that. 

Smith: You know with our hospital closures, that has really put an exclamation point on how valuable access is. And just yesterday, I was speaking to a veteran who is now battling cancer, and between the VA and Mayo Health Clinic, they cannot agree on who’s going to do what and pay for that. He’s having to now bus himself all the way over to Minnesota, to the VA there to be able to get the services that he needs. Wisconsin and western Wisconsin, particularly where I come from, have really been hurt by hospital closures and accessibility. That’s what this is all about. And I want to thank you, Mark, and the rest of the Democrats in Congress for holding your ground. Because this is the most important issue to almost every American in this country: is access to their health care. 

Pocan: Well, and also, don’t forget, it’s going to affect all your constituents, is the big ugly law triggered a half a trillion dollar cut, trillion dollar cut to Medicare. And, you know, they always told us they wouldn’t touch Medicare and Social Security, well we’re seeing it. And we just saw a big, big cut, so that’s going to affect everybody. In addition to the rate increases, in addition to people on Medicaid after next November, in addition to the people in the next few weeks on the Affordable Care Act, you’re going to get these huge rate increases. So it’s a lot of attacks just so that they could give a tax break to their donors, so that Elon Musk and Donald Trump and anyone who could afford to belong to Mar-A-Lago can get a tax break. That’s what they did. 

Smith: Bottom line, and I appreciate, Mark, you taking a moment to talk about this with us, because it is going to affect everyone. I think that’s the message we got to get across here. One way or another, everyone’s going to feel it. Thanks for being with us, Mark, and thank you for listening today. This is again, State Senator Jeff Smith from the 31st and Congressman Mark Pocan.

Pocan: Great State Senator, by the way. 

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Senator Smith currently represents District 31 in the Wisconsin State Senate. The 31st Senate District currently includes portions of Dunn, Eau Claire, and Trempealeau counties. While he doesn't represent Pierce County specifically, Senator Smith endures to represent everyone in Wisconsin.

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For more from Senator Smith, go to his website at:
https://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/31/smith/.