The drizzly, chilly autumn air and a peaceful weekend routine on Spooner Avenue in Altoona were shaken up as a growing crowd of local demonstrators lined the street, their chants echoing through the neighborhood.
Cyndi Greening of Chippewa Valley Indivisible held the megaphone close to her mouth, and pointed a chant toward US Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican nominee for governor. “Tom Tiffany voted not to certify Arizona and Pennsylvania—what do we say about that?”
The crowd called out, “Hip, hip, hypocrite! Hip, hip, hypocrite!”
“What’s even worse than that?” Greening bellowed. “That he would not have certified Wisconsin if the vote had gone on—he would not have certified our own vote! What do we say?”
“Hip, hip, hypocrite! Hip, hip, hypocrite!” the group thundered.
“And now he says, ‘Wait—I think Joe Biden was elected!’” Greening responded. “What do we call that?”
“Hip, hip, hypocrite! Hip, hip, hypocrite!”
Why are protesters calling out the Eau Claire County GOP?
Amid the roughly 100 protesters gathered in front of the Republican Party of Eau Claire County office holding hand-drawn signs, three were in inflatable hippopotamus suits, dancing about.
They were all there to voice anger over the local party’s decision to host a prominent election denier for a private campaign event, which was going on behind them. Activist Scott Presler, a Virginia native, helped plan and organize multiple “Stop the Steal” rallies that promoted false claims about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Presler was also on the grounds of the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, riot. The local county party was hosting Presler at the headquarters, alongside US Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who was also on the Capitol grounds on January 6. Van Orden has also falsely claimed there was a “tremendous amount of voter fraud” during the 2020 presidential election.
“It wouldn’t matter what party hosted them,” Greening said. “We don’t think you should be inviting J6 election deniers to the state—especially to canvas.
“These are folks who showed up for ‘Stop the Steal’—they spoke there, they organized it, and they tried to take away our vote and tried to suppress the last election and we don’t want that to happen again.”
“We’re here because we’re really worried about our vote and how it might be denied,” Stacey Brehm of Eau Claire said. “We have election deniers here being welcomed into Eau Claire and Altoona.”
Brehm, dressed as a founding father, started another chant: “Tom Tiffany—higher insurance premiums!”
The crowd retorted, “You betcha!”
Brehm continued. “Tom Tiffany—data center hypocrite!”
The crowd yelled back, “You betcha!”
“Tom Tiffany—election denialism!” Brehm roared.
“You betcha!” came from the crowd.
“Tom Tiffany—MAGA extremism!” Brehm saved for last.
The chant continued, “You betcha! You betcha!”
“Our biggest concern is that Tom Tiffany voted not to certify Arizona and Pennsylvania and he has gone on record and said he would not have certified Wisconsin,” Greening told UpNorthNews.
“To then have him in a position where he’s the governor is terrifying to me.”
READ MORE: What Tom Tiffany said about the 2020 election
Is Tom Tiffany an election denier?
Tiffany only recently acknowledged publicly that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
Greening said it’s only because of negative voter feedback that Tiffany is shifting his position. “I don’t trust that,” she said. “I think it’s just election flip-floppery.”
In December 2020, Tiffany signed on to a Texas lawsuit seeking to invalidate Joe Biden’s victory.
On January 6, 2021, he voted against certifying the results in Pennsylvania and Texas just hours after rioters threatened to kill his colleagues. He has stated he would have overturned Wisconsin’s results, too, and just this year endorsed an FBI investigation into the state’s elections.
Tiffany confirmed Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is deploying thousands of federal monitors in several states including Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that at a campaign event Sept. 17 at the Pioneer Keg in Dodge County, Tiffany told supporters that monitors will be in the state in November.
“By the way, good news, good news, the federal Department of Justice is coming to Wisconsin for this election to make sure that we have election integrity,” he said when asked about elections.
This came days after FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed agents known as “election crime coordinators” would be stationed at all FBI field offices.
“Congressman Tom Tiffany is welcoming Trump’s election interference in the midterms with open arms,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Emily Stuckey. “Despite what election-denier Tom Tiffany says, this is not good news.”
“This is one more dangerous step to undermine democracy in Wisconsin and we know exactly why—Trump wants a crony in office when it’s time to certify the 2028 presidential elections who is willing to do whatever Trump wants.”
Wisconsin has been the nation’s most closely divided state for a quarter century. Since 2000, only one presidential candidate—Barack Obama, who won it twice—has carried Wisconsin by more than a single percentage point. Every other presidential election—including 2000, 2004, 2016, 2020, and 2024—was decided by a margin of less than 1%.
“Congressman Tom Tiffany is an election-denying extremist who should never be put in charge of protecting and defending Wisconsin’s safe and secure elections,” Gov. Tony Evers posted. “Period.”
“Imagine asking Wisconsin voters for their support after showing them you don’t respect their voices,” said David Crowley, Tiffany’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor.
Crowley is the Milwaukee County Executive and has held that office since 2020. He responded to a May 2026 FBI visit to the home of Milwaukee County’s elections director.
“Donald Trump lost the 2020 election,” Crowley said. “Courts have confirmed this, recounts have confirmed this, his own officials have confirmed it.”
He also said Milwaukee County’s clerks “did their jobs” and “kept the 2020 election safe and secure,” adding that no intimidation or “strong arm tactic” would change the result.
READ MORE: Healthcare: Crowley promotes BadgerCare, Tiffany touts price transparency
