Wisconsin Senate Race: Eric Hovde Challenges Tammy Baldwin for Seat

The political landscape of Wisconsin is heating up as the 2024 Senate race takes shape. The latest entrant into the race is Eric Hovde, a Republican businessman and real estate mogul, who announced his candidacy on February 20, 2024. Hovde, who previously ran for the Senate in 2012, is seeking to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

Hovde’s campaign video, which was posted on his campaign website, highlighted the economy, healthcare, crime, and “open borders” as key issues he plans to focus on during the campaign. He believes that it is essential for Americans to come together and find common-sense solutions to these pressing issues.

Baldwin, who is seeking a third term in the Senate, has been a tireless campaigner and has garnered broad support, including among independents and voters outside of Democratic strongholds in Madison and Milwaukee. She raised millions of dollars in her successful reelection bid in 2022.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of Senate Republicans, is backing Hovde. Montana Sen. Steve Daines, chair of the NRSC, issued a statement expressing confidence in Hovde’s ability to flip Wisconsin’s Senate seat.

However, Hovde faces competition from other Republicans, including Scott Mayer, a Franklin businessman, and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who are also considering Senate runs. Mayer’s campaign had no comment on Hovde’s announcement.

In his 2012 campaign, Hovde described himself as a free-market conservative and supported overturning the Affordable Care Act, opposing abortion, and supporting overturning Roe v. Wade. Baldwin has already announced that she plans to highlight abortion rights in this year’s Senate race.

Hovde’s business empire includes Hovde Properties, a real estate development company founded by his grandfather in 1933, and three banking companies. He is the CEO of Sunwest Bank and has appeared in television commercials for them that air out west. Hovde also owns a $7 million estate in Laguna Beach, California, in addition to his property in Madison.

Democrats have branded Hovde as a carpetbagger who left his California mansion to run for Senate in Wisconsin, where he was born and raised. However, Hovde returned to Madison in 2011 after living in Washington, D.C., for 24 years.

The primary election is scheduled for August 13, 2024. Wisconsin’s Senate race is critical for Democratic hopes to maintain majority control of the Senate, as they are defending 23 seats in the Senate in November, including two held by independents who caucus with Democrats. That’s compared with just 11 seats that Republicans hope to keep in their column.

Baldwin’s campaign branded Hovde as an “out-of-touch megamillionaire” in a fundraising email sent minutes after his campaign website went live. They accused him of rubber-stamping the agenda of Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and of supporting a national abortion ban, raising taxes on working families and seniors while cutting Social Security and Medicare, and repealing the Affordable Care Act.

The Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson, Arik Wolk, echoed these sentiments, stating that Hovde would vote to pass a national abortion ban, raise taxes on working families and seniors, and repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The Wisconsin Senate race is shaping up to be a hotly contested battle between Hovde and Baldwin. The outcome of this race could have significant implications for the balance of power in the Senate and the direction of American politics.

In conclusion, the Wisconsin Senate race between Eric Hovde and Tammy Baldwin is a critical contest that could determine the balance of power in the Senate. Hovde, a Republican businessman and real estate mogul, is challenging Baldwin, a Democratic incumbent, in a race that is essential for Democratic hopes to maintain majority control of the Senate. The primary election is scheduled for August 13, 2024, and the outcome of this race could have significant implications for American politics.