Republican businessman and real estate mogul Eric Hovde launched his bid for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin, on Tuesday with a video saying, “America is going away” and “Everything is going in the wrong direction.” “We are progressing towards this,” he said.
This is Hovde’s second Senate campaign. He ran for office in 2012, but lost in the Republican primary to former Gov. Tommy Thompson. Baldwin won that year’s election and is now seeking a third term in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
Hovde was scheduled to hold his first campaign event later Tuesday in a building developed by his real estate company. In a video posted on his campaign website, Hovde mentioned the economy, health care, crime and “open borders” as issues he would focus on during the campaign.
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“I believe we need to come together and find common sense solutions,” Hovde said in the video.
Mr. Baldwin’s re-election to a third term is critical to Democrats’ hopes of retaining their Senate majority. Democrats will hold 23 seats in the Senate in November, two of which are held by independents who caucus with Democrats. By comparison, Republicans hope to keep just 11 seats.
Mr. Baldwin’s campaign labeled Mr. Hovde an “extraordinary millionaire” in a fundraising email sent minutes after the campaign’s website went live. The Baldwin campaign said Hovde would “rubber stamp” Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s agenda.
Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson Arik Wolk said separately, “Hovde is pushing to pass a national abortion ban, cut Social Security and Medicare while raising taxes on working families and seniors, and support the Affordable Care Act. I would vote to repeal it.”
U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde gives a concession speech to supporters at an election night party in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Tuesday, August 14, 2012. The Republican businessman and real estate mogul has launched a bid for the U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin says in a Tuesday, February 20, 2024 video that “America is going away” and “everything is going in the wrong direction.” This will be Hovde’s second campaign for the Senate, having run in 2012 but losing to former Gov. Tommy Thompson in the Republican primary. (AP Photo/Tom Lin)
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of Senate Republicans, has endorsed Hovde.
“Eric Hovde’s experience as a job creator, not just a career politician, makes him a strong candidate to flip Wisconsin’s Senate seat this year,” said Montana Sen. Steve Daines, chairman of the NRSC, in a statement. “It’s happening,” he said.
Other Republicans are also considering challenging Hovde for the nomination. Franklin businessman Scott Meyer and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark are also considering a run for the Senate. Other prominent Republicans opposed the candidacy, including Representatives Tom Tiffany and Mike Gallagher.
Meyer’s campaign had no comment Tuesday.
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Wisconsin’s primary election is scheduled for August 13th.
During his 2012 campaign, Hovde described himself as a free-market conservative. He campaigned as a supporter of overturning the Affordable Care Act, the national health care law signed by former President Barack Obama, who opposes abortion and supported overturning Roe v. Wade. The U.S. Supreme Court handed down the decision in 2022, supporting the victory of Democratic candidates that year who supported abortion rights. Baldwin has already said he plans to emphasize 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, has appeared in Sunwest Bank television commercials that air in the West, and in addition to the Madison property, owns his $7 million estate in Laguna Beach, California. Masu.
He returned to Madison in 2011 after living in Washington, DC, for 24 years.
Democrats have painted Mr. Hovde as a carpetbagger who left his California mansion to run for Senate in his native Wisconsin.
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Baldwin most recently won re-election in Wisconsin by 11 points in a race that was seen as a model for a statewide Democratic run. She was a tireless campaigner, drawing broad support, including independents and voters outside the Democratic strongholds of Madison and Milwaukee, and raising millions of dollars to fuel her successful bid.
