MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s open race for governor, solidifying the congressman’s front-runner status in the Republican primary in the battleground state while also bolstering Democrats’ attempts to tie Tiffany to unpopular elements of the president’s agenda.

Trump announced the endorsement in a social media post on Tuesday night, saying Tiffany “has always been at my side.”

Tiffany has been a fierce Trump loyalist since he was elected to Congress in 2020. Prior to that he served just over seven years in the Wisconsin Legislature where he was a firm backer of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Tiffany faces Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann in the August primary.

Trump said as governor Tiffany would work to grow the economy, cut taxes, secure the border, ensure law and order, support the military and protect gun rights.

Tiffany said he was honored to receive the endorsement and promised that if elected "I will make Wisconsin great again by lowering utility rates and property taxes, cutting burdensome red tape, rooting out waste and fraud, and restoring common-sense leadership to Madison.”

Democrats blasted the endorsement.

“Tiffany has proudly voted in lockstep for Washington Republicans’ expensive and unpopular agenda that has hurt families, farmers, and small businesses across Wisconsin,” Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Izzi Levy said.

Wisconsin's governor’s race is open for the first time in 16 years after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers decided against seeking a third term. Prominent Democrats running include former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes; current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez; Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley; state Sen. Kelda Roys; state Rep. Francesca Hong; former state economic development director Missy Hughes; and former Evers aide Joel Brennan.

Tiffany faces some historical hurdles. No sitting member of Congress has ever been elected governor of Wisconsin and in the past 36 years and gubernatorial candidates who were the same party as the president in a midterm election have lost every time, except for Evers in 2022.

But Democrats have also never held the office more than eight years in a row.