Politics
Varnam and Godlewski bring sharply different profiles to Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor race
Republican David Varnam and Democrat Sarah Godlewski are running for lieutenant governor alongside Tom Tiffany and David Crowley. The office has limited routine power, but its holder can take over as governor if the governor dies, resigns or otherwise leaves office.
Republican David Varnam and Democrat Sarah Godlewski are seeking Wisconsin’s lieutenant governorship as running mates to gubernatorial candidates Tom Tiffany and David Crowley, respectively. The race has added significance because a lieutenant governor can become governor if the state’s chief executive leaves office.
That possibility was underscored Sept. 12, when a plane carrying Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, went into Lake Wausau. Tiffany swam to shore and suffered minor injuries, according to the account of the incident.
Wisconsin has had two lieutenant governors succeed to the governorship in the past 50 years. Democrat Martin Schreiber took office in 1977 after Gov. Patrick Lucey became ambassador to Mexico. In 2001, Republican Scott McCallum became governor when Tommy Thompson resigned to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Varnam, 47, is a three-term mayor of Lancaster who defeated Will Martin in the Republican primary. Martin had the state Republican Party’s endorsement. Varnam argued during the campaign that his experience holding elected office mattered in a position where he could potentially become governor.
A stay-at-home father who moved to Wisconsin 15 years ago so his wife, a physician, could practice in Lancaster, Varnam has two daughters. He previously served on the city’s Common Council and worked as a congressional aide and federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family, an evangelical organization. He has highlighted opposition to a proposed stormwater fee increase and wheel tax in Lancaster.
Varnam describes himself as a Christian conservative and has identified as pro-life and supportive of gun rights. Godlewski has made abortion rights a central contrast in the race. At an Oct. 6 Milwaukee event with Crowley and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, she said she and Crowley would defend the right to make personal health care decisions without political interference.
Godlewski, 44, is Wisconsin’s secretary of state and a former state treasurer. An Eau Claire native, she was elected treasurer in 2018 after campaigning to preserve the office, which has limited authority but includes a seat on the Commission on Public Lands. She received 1.3 million votes in that election.
Godlewski ran for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in 2022 but withdrew before the August primary, along with candidates Alex Lasry and Tom Nelson. Mandela Barnes won the nomination and later lost to Republican Ron Johnson. Gov. Tony Evers appointed Godlewski secretary of state in March 2023, after Doug La Follette resigned.
Although the lieutenant governor’s day-to-day role is limited, the office can become consequential in an emergency or when a governor departs. The two candidates bring different governing and political backgrounds to that possibility as Wisconsin voters consider the governor’s race.