Eric Hovde handily wins Wisconsin's Republican US Senate primary

Madison business executive Eric Hovde easily defeated two fellow Republicans in Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate primary election Tuesday, officially setting up his expected November matchup with Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

Wisconsin’s little-known GOP primary for U.S. Senate was called by the Associated Press soon after polls closed, with Hovde receiving an overwhelming share of the vote compared to Rejani Raveendran of Stevens Point and Charles Barman of Sharon, his Republican challengers.

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The two ran longshot campaigns on shoestring budgets while Hovde’s campaign stayed focused on Baldwin all the while. Similarly, Baldwin’s campaign has focused its attacks on Hovde, never mentioning Raveendran or Barman.

Before the AP had even called the race, Hovde released a written statement declaring victory, saying that since he started his campaign, his focus had been on defeating Baldwin and restoring the American dream.

“Tammy Baldwin has been in Washington for twenty-five years and things have only gotten worse,” Hovde said. “It’s time for change.”

In her own written statement Tuesday, Baldwin accused Hovde of running to put the “wealthy and well connected like himself first.”

“While I am running to put Wisconsin families first, my opponent Eric Hovde is a multi millionaire California bank owner who has insulted our seniors, our farmers, our moms, and just about everyone else in our great state,” Baldwin said.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin speaks during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Wednesday, June 9, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Baldwin joined fellow Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof of Georgia in introducing a bill on Monday, July 12, 2021, to require the federal government to set up a Medicaid-like health plan in states that have not expanded Medicaid plans to cover more low-income adults. *Al Drago/AP Photo*

Nearly all polls of Wisconsin voters this year have shown Baldwin leading Hovde, aside from a tie recorded by Remington Research in late June and early July. A Marquette University Law School poll released Aug. 7 showed Baldwin leading Hovde 53 to 46 percent among registered voters and 52-47 among likely voters.

Baldwin’s Senate seat is being staunchly defended by Democrats hoping to maintain a majority in the chamber. Federal Election Commission reports show Baldwin raised nearly seven times as much as Hovde between July 1 and July 24. But, with the help of $13 million in personal loans to his campaign since entering the race in February, Hovde has largely kept pace with Baldwin’s spending.

Baldwin was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, defeating former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson in her first general election. That same year, Hovde lost to Thompson in the GOP primary.