WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Wisconsin Republican Party rallied behind current congressman and gubernatorial hopeful Tom Tiffany at the Republican State Convention on Saturday, May 16, emphasizing unity ahead of the November general election.

Republican leaders said presenting a united front will help drive voter turnout as the party works to energize conservatives across the state.

Earlier this week, however, Republicans appeared divided after Tiffany broke with legislative leaders who crafted a surplus deal alongside Gov. Tony Evers. Tiffany criticized the compromise, saying it failed to provide meaningful relief for Wisconsin residents.

“They had a lot of money brought into state government last year and then just to send back a little bit, I thought they should have sent all the surplus back,” Rep. Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, said.

Tiffany also criticized Evers’ leadership, pointing to the lack of Democratic support for the deal at the Capitol.

“Governor Evers could not convince any Democratic senators to vote for it. I mean, that’s weakness. And that’s one of the things that’s going to change when I become the next governor,” Tiffany said.

Throughout the convention, Republican speakers repeatedly stressed the importance of voter turnout this election season. Wisconsin GOP Chairman Brian Schimming said the party’s unified support behind Tiffany could help boost enthusiasm among conservative voters.

“Four years ago, we kind of had the reverse situation. The Republicans had, let’s be honest, some pretty tough primaries in attorney general and gubernatorial races and the Democrats had an incumbent, so it was clean,” Schimming said. “Exact role reversal this time.”

Schimming noted this is the first election cycle since 2014 without a federal race at the top of the ballot, which he said could affect turnout. He added that Republicans are increasing outreach efforts to younger voters, a demographic the party has struggled with in past elections.

Republicans believe support among Gen Z voters is shifting and say more young voters are turning to the GOP for answers.

“I’ve been up at St. Norberts a couple weeks ago,” Schimming said. “I was at UW-Whitewater last week, so we are going to have a very active presence on the campuses.”

Tiffany acknowledged turnout will be critical to securing a victory in November but said he is prepared for the challenge.

“I had a safe seat up in the 7th congressional district. I could have stayed there. But this state needs new leadership, and I believe I can motivate those people to come out and vote here in November and save our great state of

While voter turnout remains a concern, Republicans brought in several well-known political figures to energize supporters and reinforce the message of party unity.

“We have no room for division. We have no room for this circular firing squad which we are very good at,” Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said. “End it. End it now.”

Tiffany said he informed several representatives and senators ahead of time that he planned to publicly oppose the bipartisan surplus agreement. If elected, he said he would work to return more of the state surplus to taxpayers.