WATERTOWN, Wis. — The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation's endorsement of Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the first statewide Democratic endorsement in more than 20 years, is raising eyebrows in the dairy state.
Farmers told the Post they wanted to replace him with someone with business experience: Baldwin's Republican opponent Eric Hovde.
After the announcement, two Wisconsin dairy groups endorsed Hovde as the Deep Purple state's agriculture industry faces off in a race to determine the Senate majority in 2025.
The Agriculture Department's support came the day before. Axios reports Democrats are struggling to hold on to the Senate, with the race closer than polls show, according to insiders.
Cook Political Report Changed race rating It turned from lean Democrats to a toss-up last week, following a huge increase in Republican funding and the latest analysis of party polls.
A political action committee linked to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to invest $17 million in the campaign by November 5th, with Republicans planning to spend as much as Democrats. approaching but still not equal.
The path to a Republican Senate majority runs, at least in part, through Wisconsin's dairy farms. The state is a key part of the Republican map in regaining control of the Senate.
But Mr. Baldwin is known in the Dairy State for traveling to red districts during the election cycle and garnering more votes in rural counties than other Democrats statewide.
The Agriculture Department credits the congressman with industry projects such as the Dairy Pride Act and the Dairy Business Innovation Initiative, as well as Enforcement of FDA Labeling Standards, which prohibits selling non-dairy products as “milk.” He praised the efforts.
Baldwin, who has voted for Biden 96% of the time and was reportedly in the running for vice president four years ago, said her Dairy Pride Innovation Initiative is giving Wisconsin's dairy industry the bacon. He claims to have taken home a total of approximately $40 million.
But her Senate record has some farmers slamming the department.
Rick Carr is retired and describes himself as a gentleman farmer who has run a small cattle feeding business in Waukesha County for 20 years. He resigned from his local farm bureau in favor of Baldwin at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau.
“As a conservative and county farm board director, I simply could not continue to be associated with an organization that supports one of the most liberal members of the Senate,” Carr told the Post. “Baldwin votes 95% of the time in favor of the Biden administration's spending expansion policies, which are causing extreme inflation and doing nothing to stop the border crisis, yet Congress never passes them.” It doesn't matter how much help you put into place in a farm bill that doesn't do that.'' She deserves support.''
“Supporting Mr. Baldwin amounts to tacit approval of the liberal policies that have put this country in the worst position it has been in for years,” Kerr added. “I quit because I can't participate.”
Instead, a dairy farm in Wisconsin is supporting Hovde.
Kim Bremer, executive director of the Venture Dairy Cooperative, a major state advocacy group, told the Post that her organization's support for the Republican Party is because career politicians see working-class issues. He said this is because union members feel that they cannot understand the situation. In explaining her support, she referred to venture capitalist Hovde as a “trigger.”
Bremer said member countries were grappling with inflation rates that more than doubled and other related issues. The cost of production for farmers is higher than ever, but the price they get for milk remains low for most of the year.
“When inflation rises, [to] Dairy farms, like other businesses, have had to deal with higher costs because people like Sen. Baldwin voted for Biden-Harris on legislation that increases our nation's debt.” Cindy Lightner, president of the Wisconsin Dairy Federation, told the Post.
“They have had to endure higher fuel costs, higher milk transportation costs, higher crop prices, and higher employee wages and insurance. But unlike other companies, dairy products Manufacturers cannot set the selling price for the milk they produce,” she said.
“We like Eric Hovde’s stance on putting whole milk back in schools for the health of our children, and the Farm Bill’s focus on farmers and reducing debt.”
David Trimner, co-owner of Miltrim Farms in Athens, told the Post that his family-run dairy farm with 3,000 cows was just handed over to the next generation.
“There's a lot going on in terms of all kinds of costs: inflation, building barns, the cost of buying things you need to run a business, and the majority of those costs are coming from the Democratic administration,” said the 32-year-old. farmer.
Asked why he supports Hovde, Trimner said it's not about Baldwin specifically, but the idea of changing the balance of power in Washington to benefit farmers and everyone else. .
“Tammy Baldwin has done good things for dairy farmers, you have to tell her that, but overall, having another Democrat in the Senate means more spending, more free benefits.” , we feel that more tax money is going to be spent. And it doesn't help us. In the end, it makes everything more expensive for the farmers and for the state.”
“Farmers are already heavily regulated,” Trimner added. “I certainly don't have confidence that the Democratic side can make things any better.”
Manitowoc dairy farmer Dan Siemers agrees.
“I run a sizable business and I look for candidates who understand the business and understand the business,” he told the Post.
Siemers believes Hovde will bring “really good business sense and common sense to D.C., which seems to have nothing left.”
Certainly not from Baldwin. “Typically, she almost always votes for Biden and liberal policies. That's not an agenda I support,” he said.
“She does enough work for farmers that some farmers think she's pro-agriculture, but every time something difficult happens, she doesn't support whole milk in schools. It was too difficult. She's going to start playing softball, but nothing too difficult.”
Mr. Baldwin's commitment to dairy farming and his mixed record on farm votes are typical of the political triangle in which Mr. Baldwin is known as a shrewd politician, people familiar with the matter said. The strategy has worked well for Baldwin, who has never lost an election since being elected to Congress in 1998.
In 2023, dairy state senators voted against the Biden administration's effort to repeal the expanded U.S. water definition — an effort by then-Wisconsin Farm Bureau Secretary Kevin Krenz. praised: “The uncertainty created by this rule is impacting the day-to-day operations of Wisconsin farmers, including increased paperwork and unnecessary permitting delays.”
WOTUS, or “navigable waters,” falls under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency's main reason for its opposition is that the expanded definition includes “ephemeral” areas, that is, land that becomes wet only through precipitation. Farmers would be at risk of federal prosecution for farming their land unless they first go through a lengthy process. Permit process.
Wisconsin's fields are constantly flooded, especially in the spring and late summer.
While Baldwin's pro-milk efforts focused on federal labeling rules for non-dairy products, a bipartisan group of her colleagues in Wisconsin called for repealing the Obama administration-era ban on whole milk in school cafeterias. Co-sponsored or voted for the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023. Baldwin was not a Senate co-sponsor.
Tyler Wentzlaff, state director for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, declined to answer questions about the discrepancy between the agency's position and Baldwin's record.
“Agriculture is a bipartisan issue that requires continued support from both parties. People like Representative Derrick Van Orden and Senator Tammy Baldwin are important allies on agricultural issues at the federal level. Our organization's support reflects the bipartisan nature of Wisconsin agriculture and the need for strong support for our state's farmers.”
In response to a request for clarification on the difference between Baldwin's position and the agency's regarding WOTUS and whole milk in school cafeterias, Baldwin spokesman Andrew Mamo told the Post: Newspaper attacks on the Farm Bureau show how out of touch they really are with Wisconsin. Eric Hovde probably thinks happy cows come from California, not Wisconsin. ”
Speaking of California, Mr. Hovde, who hails from Baldwin's hometown of Madison, has repeatedly been effectively attacked by the senator over his Orange County holdings.
But despite Hovde's connections to Cali, the report said, Baldwin has done a much better job of milking Golden State donors. Latest FEC filings. From 2023 to July 2024, Baldwin raised $2.3 million in separate itemized contributions from California donors. This was more than Hovde's total of just over $260,000. Third quarter filings are not yet available.
A self-funded Madison businessman says offering whole milk in schools will curb inflation and government regulation.
“Eric Hovde understands the importance of Wisconsin's agricultural industry and will work every day in Washington to advance pro-farmer policies. We will advocate for the return of whole milk in schools, while ending environmental regulations that make farmers' jobs even harder,” Hovde spokesman Zach Bannon told the Post.
