Tom Tiffany's Plane Crash Survival Shows Real Leadership On Governor Campaign Trail
Moments like this reveal how a candidate will lead.
"The plane lost power, and Len said to me, 'We are going down. Pull your seat belt tight.' That's exactly what I did. I gave it a yank and pulled it good and tight." U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin's Republican gubernatorial candidate, told the press the riveting story Sunday, Sept. 13, of his small airplane ditching into Lake Wausau the previous night.
Moments after Tiffany tugged on his seatbelt, the plane hit the water in the middle of the lake. Tiffany, 68, and pilot Lenny Boltz were the only two aboard. When the plane slammed into the water, Tiffany's head ricocheted off the dashboard, gashing his forehead.
Boltz opened the door and the two men climbed to the top of the aircraft where they sat for about 10 minutes as the plane steadily sank. Boltz called 911. Tiffany lost his phone in the emergency. Soon the airplane was too far gone. They pushed off and started swimming for shore, injured and bleeding, in the pitch dark. When they felt a shallow spot, about five feet deep, they decided to stop there and wait for rescuers to reach them. First responders in two boats found the men, got them to shore, and took them to the hospital.
Tiffany received 12 stitches over his eyebrow; Boltz needed four.
At times, Tiffany paused emotionally during the press conference recounting the terrifying crash. His voice cracked as the gravity of what he survived struck him in waves.
"We are just really fortunate. God was looking after us last night." He thanked the first responders with sincere humility, gave them a basket of apples, and took questions from reporters.
No handlers. No scripts. Purely authentic.
Better Than a Stump Speech
You can listen to 100 variations of the same stump speech and learn nothing about a candidate. Moments like this reveal how a candidate will lead. When the public needs connection, will he show up and say the right things? Or will he let a press release written by some public relations lacky do the talking?
Recall how former President Joe Biden merely issued a press release a day after the deadly Maui fires started, on August 8, 2023. Then he approved disaster relief funding, mentioning it in an Aug. 10 speech in Utah. As more people died in the destructive blaze, Biden took a vacation, three days at his Delaware beach house, then a week in Lake Tahoe for a family vacation. He left Lake Tahoe Aug. 21 and finally traveled to Maui where he gave a tone-deaf speech, comparing fire survivors who lost entire communities to a small kitchen fire in his beach house after a lightening strike. "To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my '67 Corvette, and my cat," Biden said.
Insensitive, out of touch, and it left no one surprised. Biden led like he campaigned: mostly out of view, managed by handlers, and with the occasional gaff when he broke out of captivity.
Political campaigns are grueling. Good candidates travel everywhere voters are found. The pace alone can be exhausting. It's mentally taxing to stay conversant on constantly changing political landscapes, look tidy, never tired, never rude, and smell nice enough to kiss babies while doing it.
Campaigning can also be dangerous. President Trump survived several assassination attempts while campaigning. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for president. U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, a popular Minnesota Democrat, died in 2002 in a small plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota. Tragically his wife, daughter, and five others died with him when the plane crashed into a bog while landing in snow and fog, just 11 days before the election.
Campaigning Prepares Candidates for Office
Tiffany was returning home from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the plane lost power during its approach to the Wausau Downtown Airport. This crash was way too close to a tragedy, but he says he will fly again.
"It just gives me great appreciation to be here another day, to be able to be with my wife and family," Tiffany said.
The work of campaigning for office is a proving ground for holding office. The candidate who travels to the far corners of the state to earn a vote is likely to serve that corner while in office. The governor's seat is not a desk job. Candidates who can't master an uneventful campaign and who rarely leave their metropolitan home county are not fit for office.
No one wants to see a candidate struck by tragedy, but the campaign trail is part dangerous obstacle course. The candidate who survives a plane crash, takes 12 stitches to the eyebrow and says, "This will not deter me," has proven he is capable of adapting to whatever Wisconsin throws at him.
READ MORE FROM RESTORATION NEWS:
