Businessman Eric Hovde has won Wisconsin’s Republican primary for Senate, NBC News projects, setting up a critical statewide race against Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Hovde, who was backed by former President Donald Trump and other national Republicans, easily fended off two lesser-known challengers in the primary, while Baldwin ran unopposed as he sought a third term.
Baldwin’s seat is a top priority for both parties in the battle for control of the closely divided Senate. She worked to build a sizable war chest for the campaign and leverage its appeal in rural parts of the state.
In 2018, Baldwin was re-elected by 11 points, following a 5-point victory in 2012. By comparison, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump each won the state by less than 1 percentage point in their last two House races White. Baldwin also did better than the top of the Democratic ticket in some recent polls in Wisconsin.
A wealthy and independent businessman, Hovde, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2012, has already loaned his campaign $13 million. But Baldwin has maintained a financial advantage in the race, spending more than $30 million so far, with $6.4 million remaining in his campaign account as of July 24, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Hovde’s campaign reported spending $13.6 million so far and had $3.1 million on hand as of July 24.
With Hovde long seen as the favorite to win the Republican Party nomination, the two candidates have already traded barbs.
One of Baldwin’s most recent ads features children of single mothers, highlighting Hovde audio saying that children “born out of wedlock” are “on a direct path to a life of poverty.”
“This just shows that Eric Hub is ignorant,” says one person in the ad, with another later adding, “What is wrong with this guy?”
Hovde rejected Baldwin’s negative ads, releasing a TV commercial where he says: “The false attacks will keep happening because she has nothing to go by. Her record has failed us on inflation, the border and crime.” He later adds, “It’s time for a change.”
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