Tom Tiffany: GOP Governor Candidate Survives Plane Crash as He Is Forced to Swim for His Life after Emergency Landing in Lake

Wisconsin Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, who is also the state’s current gubernatorial nominee, revealed that he survived a plane crash on Saturday night and was forced to swim for his life afterward.

“While returning home from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner tonight, the plane I was traveling in lost power as we approached the Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau,” Tiffany wrote in a post on Facebook, adding, “‘After landing, we called 911. As the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area, where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat,” he added.

Narrow Escape

Tiffany said he and the pilot of the four-seat Bonanza suffered “minor injuries” in the crash. He also thanked the pilot and the first responders who rushed to help, writing that “they got us safely off the water and transported us to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where we received excellent care.”

Tiffany and his wife, Chris, later reunited at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

The cause of the power failure that led to the crash remains under investigation.

The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources initially responded to the scene before the investigation was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Tiffany has represented Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District since 2020, when then-Congressman Sean Duffy, who now serves as President Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary, resigned from the seat for family reasons.

Tiffany is now the Republican nominee for governor of Wisconsin and will face Democrat David Crowley in November.

Tough Race Ahead

A Marquette Law School poll released in late August showed the race tied, with both Tiffany and Crowley receiving 44 percent support among registered voters. Another 12 percent of those surveyed said they remained undecided.

Meanwhile, Michael Alfonso, Duffy’s 26-year-old son-in-law, has been nominated to succeed Tiffany in Congress in the district, which has long been considered a Republican stronghold.

Alfonso defeated Jessi Ebben, Kevin Hermening, Niina Threlfall-Baum and Cheryl Ann Runkel in the Republican primary.

Trump endorsed Alfonso in a Truth Social post, describing it as a “great honor” to back the 26-year-old, whom he praised as a MAGA warrior and a young “STAR.” The president highlighted Alfonso’s positions on energy dominance, the Second Amendment, border security and election security as reasons for Republicans to support him.

During the closely contested primary, Alfonso faced criticism over his age and the influence of his in-laws in the campaign.

Republicans have held Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District for the past 15 years.