Republican Businessman Announces Senate Bid

(RepublicanPress.org) – In 2012, Eric Hovde ran in the Republican primary in Wisconsin for a seat in the US Senate against four other people. The businessman lost that bid to former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, who lost his race in the general election to Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Now Hovde is back to try to unseat her in 2024.

On February 20, Hovde released a video on YouTube announcing his campaign for the US Senate. In the ad, he listed the “challenges” facing America today, namely the “economy,” “health care,” “crime, and open borders.” The businessman said the US is simply “going in the wrong direction.” He claimed that the politicians currently in Washington, DC, are only dividing America instead of bringing it together. Hovde indicated he doesn’t recognize the country and wants to “restore” the country he remembers once again.

Republican businessman Eric Hovde announced Tuesday he's running for Senate in Wisconsin, in a bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. https://t.co/39Ytr36zyY

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 20, 2024

The Wisconsin primary takes place on August 13, and Baldwin is running for her third term. According to Ballotpedia, there are several GOP members currently in the running to try and unseat her, including Hovde, Kyle Corrigan, Stacey Klein, Rejani Raveendran, and Patrick Schaefer-Wicke. Nobody from the Democratic side is currently campaigning against the legislator. In 2018, Baldwin won re-election with 55.4% of the vote over her opponent, Republican Leah Vukmir.

Since losing his previous bid, Hovde has been concentrating on building his businesses. According to CBS News, the GOP candidate owns Hovde Properties and is the CEO of both H Bancorp and Sunwest Bank. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines supports Hovde’s campaign, recently saying during an interview that the candidate puts the state “in play.”

Former President Donald Trump (R) and President Joe Biden (D) had an intense battle in Wisconsin during the 2020 election. The US leader came out on top, earning 49.4% of the vote to Trump’s 48.8% — nearly 21,000 votes. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) currently holds the other Senate seat for the state.