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State Farm Bureau Federation endorses Thompson

MADISON — Tommy Thompson has the endorsement of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation in his race for the U.S. Senate.

The endorsement was made by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s 11-member board of directors. Thompson, a former Wisconsin governor, is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the August 14 primary election.

“Tommy Thompson has been a strong advocate for farmers since first serving in the State Assembly,” said Bill Bruins, WFBF president. “It was Thompson that Wisconsin farmers have to thank for use value assessment of farmland,” Bruins said. “It was Thompson who fully implemented it in 2000. Since then, Wisconsin rural landowners have saved nearly $4 billion in property taxes.”

“As governor, he was a staunch property rights advocate who strengthened the state’s Right to Farm law, cut taxes 91 times, eliminated inheritance and gift taxes, and enhanced deer and bear damage claims for farmers,” Bruins said.

When Thompson met with the WFBF board of directors, he reminded them that he worked with a Democrat-controlled state Legislature to pass historic welfare reform in the 1990s. He chided the current U.S. Senate for not passing a budget in over 1,100 days, for a mountain of debt and for the federal government’s fiscal reliance on China.

Thompson, a long-time Farm Bureau member, owns a herd of purebred Belted Galloway cattle and 700 acres of corn, soybeans and hay. If he secures the Republican nomination in the Aug. 14 primary, he would face Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Herb Kohl.

All endorsements for federal races come from the WFBF board of directors. WFBF’s political action committee, the Volunteers for Agriculture, only endorses candidates for state races.