Tobias Anton Roth Sr. (born October 10, 1938) is a retired American businessman, lobbyist, and Republican politician from Appleton, Wisconsin.

In 1968, Roth made his first run for public office, launching a primary challenge against incumbent Republican state representative Ervin Conradt.

[6] Four years later, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a significant redistricting law which scrapped the old county-based Assembly district system.

[8] The Republican primary ultimately attracted three other candidates, 29-year-old former U.S. Department of Justice attorney David Prosser Jr., county supervisor Norman Austin, and 24-year-old John Birch Society sympathizer Neal Wellman.

Republicans were in the minority for all of Roth's years in the Assembly, but he served on the Judiciary committee in 1975 and 1977 when pivotal judicial reform amendments were passed.

[11] On February 18, 1978, Roth announced he would run for U.S. House of Representatives in Wisconsin's 8th congressional district, challenging incumbent Democrat Robert John Cornell.

In his announcement, Roth blasted the U.S. Congress and the Jimmy Carter administration for wasteful spending and over-regulation, and attacked Cornell for voting for an increase in social security payroll taxes, while also voting for a pay increase and maintaining a separate retirement system for members of Congress.

His most news-making controversy during this term was a story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which quoted unnamed staffers from Roth's congressional office expressing disillusionment with the amount of time spent on politics and re-election rather than government.

Cornell, who was also a Catholic priest, ultimately withdrew from the race in May 1980, citing Pope John Paul II's order that clergy withdraw from political activity.

Roth, as a long-time opponent of government regulations, was called on to assist Vice President George H. W. Bush in his study of the impact of the current regulatory regime.

[22] In the 1982 election, Roth was challenged by Ruth Clusen, a former Carter administration appointee in the Department of Energy and former national president of the League of Women Voters.

[28] In the 1984 election, Roth faced Vietnam veteran Paul F. Willems, who served as a campaign manager for Clusen two years earlier.

[30] In the 99th Congress, Roth opposed a new push for sanctions against apartheid South Africa, suggesting the U.S. should offer incentives for reform instead.

[37] He also continued to oppose intervention in the middle east, criticizing U.S. involvement in the Iran–Iraq War and Reagan's plans to offer U.S. Navy protection for Kuwaiti oil shipping.

[38][39] During the 100th Congress, Wisconsin's senior U.S. senator William Proxmire announced his plan to retire; Roth was frequently mentioned as a potential candidate, but he ultimately chose to remain in the House.

[45] At the general election, however, Roth faced the toughest re-election fight of his career against state senator Jerome Van Sistine.

[49] Before leaving office, Roth endorsed Assembly speaker David Prosser Jr. to succeed him and campaigned vigorously to support him in the general election.

[50] Prosser won the primary, but ultimately fell 10,000 votes short of Democrat Jay Johnson in the general election.