With GOP incumbent Tom Tiffany running for governor, his seat is now a pick-up opportunity for Democrats like Clark who want Congress to be a check on runaway presidential power.
Former state Assembly Rep. Fred Clark announced his campaign for Congress in northern Wisconsin’s 7th District on Wednesday, giving Democrats an experienced candidate in their fight to win back a seat they held for 40 years before losing it 15 years ago.
Clark’s first public announcement of his campaign came on the UpNorthNews’ radio program “Mornings with Pat Kreitlow” as he described his summer of road trips across the expansive district to gauge possible support for a run.
“It helped me, after a lot of thought, to make a decision to stand up and make the case for new representation in Congress,” Clark said. “So I’m in. My candidacy starts today.”
Clark, 66, had originally been considering the race as a way to challenge and possibly unseat US Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst). But Tiffany decided to run for governor in 2026, making the 7th an open race.
A longtime forester and ecologist, Clark served in the Assembly from 2011 to 2015, representing the area around Baraboo, prior to his relocation to the Bayfield area. Clark has served on the Wisconsin Council on Forestry, the Wisconsin Council on Tourism, and the state Natural Resources Board. He now provides forestry management consultant services.
There were already a host of issues for Clark to run on, but the move by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress to shut down the federal government and defend massive cuts to health care only gave Clark more reasons to tap into voter frustration.
“When you look at just the brutal impact on middle class people across this country, removing the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act is going to affect health care for millions of people,” Clark said.
Clark also took aim at Congress’ unwillingness to review Trump’s unilateral and haphazard tariffs that have allowed inflation to maintain its hold on the economy.
“This year, our Congress has failed in that responsibility. They won’t even oppose this administration in some of the most basic things because they’re afraid they’ll get tweeted at.”
Unlike Tiffany and other Republicans who have tried to scrap environmental protections as a way to encourage mining in northern Wisconsin, Clark says his rural economic development plan involves making sure the small and mid-size businesses already here can thrive.
“We can chase big mines,” Clark said, “make big holes in the ground. We can chase massive international businesses that we think are going to plop down big data centers. But time after time, experience has shown you get better bang for your buck by investing in local communities and local businesses, the small farms and the forestry enterprises that are the bulk of employment and economic activity in northern Wisconsin.”
Clark is hoping to put the 7th district back in Democratic hands for the first time since 2010, when 40-year incumbent Dave Obey retired and current US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy won the seat. Duffy later resigned and Tiffany won the seat in a 2020 special election.
