Tom Tiffany opposes Juneteenth as a holiday. David Crowley says it’s disqualifying for Wisconsin governor

The legislative record shows Tom Tiffany is one of the most anti-Black officials in the country and one of his opponents says it’s disqualifying for a potential Wisconsin governor. 

Tiffany was one of only 14 Republican congressmen to vote in 2021 against making Juneteenth a federal holiday. More recently, he reintroduced legislation to ban DEI programs across the federal government. 

Americans will celebrate the end of slavery again during this year’s Juneteenth celebrations, including the long-running festival that Milwaukee has been  putting on for 55 years.  

Tiffany is the only viable Republican candidate for governor. His vote against recognizing the end of slavery put him among an exceptionally small group of lawmakers to oppose it, which even put him at odds in his own party. Tiffany was the only member of Wisconsin’s House delegation to oppose the measure. The bill passed the Senate unanimously before being signed into law by former President Joe Biden.

Tiffany argued at the time that the holiday would “balkanize our country” and “fuel separatism” by creating what he described as a race-based “Independence Day.”

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democratic candidate for governor, is the first Black man to be elected to lead the county. He said Tiffany’s Juneteenth vote is disqualifying for governor. 

“Juneteenth is not just a celebration of Black history. It is a celebration of American history and a recognition that our state and our country are stronger when every community is seen, heard, and respected,” Crowley said in a statement. “Tom Tiffany’s vote against Juneteenth shows where his governing priorities are. If he cannot recognize the importance of a day that means so much to so many Wisconsinites, it raises serious questions about whether he is willing to listen to communities outside his political base. A governor must be prepared to represent every corner of this state and every person who calls Wisconsin home. Tiffany’s record shows he is simply too extreme and too out of touch to do that.”

This is not the first time in recent days that Tiffany has been considered too extreme. He recently has been stoking conspiracies surrounding election integrity to stay in line with President Donald Trump.

His campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.