GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany won’t challenge Baldwin for Wisconsin Senate seat

GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin will not seek to challenge Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin for her US Senate seat next year, the second congressional Republican in recent weeks to pass on a bid in the crucial swing state.

Tiffany said he instead plans to run for reelection in the House, mirroring Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, who passed on a Senate bid as well despite being recruited by GOP leaders.

Republicans have yet to field a top-tier challenger against Baldwin, though businessman Eric Hovde, who lost in the GOP primary for the Senate seat in 2012, may run for the seat.

In a statement, Tiffany said, “I can make the greatest impact continuing to serve the great people of Wisconsin in the House of Representatives.”

Gallagher announced in June that he similarly would not run for Senate in 2024 and would instead “pursue reelection to the House” – a blow to national Republicans who had hoped he could flip the key Senate seat.

Baldwin has held the Wisconsin Senate seat since 2013. Democrats currently control a narrow Senate majority.

President Joe Biden won Wisconsin in the 2020 presidential election, flipping the state back to the Democratic column for the presidential race after former President Donald Trump won the state in 2016.

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN’s Manu Raju in a May interview that his main focus for now is on flipping four states: Montana, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Nevada is now another battleground state in play for Republicans as Sam Brown, a retired Army captain who was severely burned by the explosion of a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, announced in July his plans to enter Nevada’s Republican primary to take on Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen next fall.

CNN’s Manu Raju and Eric Bradner contributed to this report.

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