Republican Eric Hovde loans US Senate campaign another $7M in closing months of election

With a $7 million loan to his campaign, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde raised slightly more money than Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin over roughly the past two months. But the latest campaign finance reports show Baldwin has dominated Hovde’s fundraising throughout the year and she’s nearly doubled his campaign spending.

Between July 25 and Sept. 30, banking executive Hovde raised just more than $11.2 million, including around $2.8 million from individual donors. But the majority of Hovde’s latest haul came by way of a $7 million personal loan to his campaign. Of the nearly $28 million Hovde has raised this year, $20 million has come from personal loans.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin raised around $11 million between July 25 and Sept. 30. Of that, $9.4 million came from individuals. So far this year, Baldwin has raised  around $47.7 million for her re-election campaign. During her 2018 Senate campaign, Baldwin raised a total of around $30.9 million. 

Baldwin nearly doubles Hovde’s campaign spending this year

While Hovde slightly outraised Baldwin in the most recent reporting period, he was outspent by millions of dollars. The Republican spent around $8.6 million during the roughly two month period and ended with just more than $5.7 million in available cash. Throughout the 2024 Senate race Hovde has spent close to $22.3 million. 

Baldwin spent just more than $12.1 million during the period and ended with just more than $5.2 million in the bank. This year, her campaign has spent nearly $44 million.

The latest fundraising reports don’t account for spending by outside groups working to boost or defeat either candidate. The Associated Press reported this week that outside Republican groups poured around $69 million into Wisconsin’s Senate race as of Monday. But Democratic aligned groups have eclipsed that with around $93 million in spending. 

In a statement, Hovde campaign spokesperson Zach Bannon said “Washington Democrats are pouring tens of millions of dollars into our state to try and stop our momentum.”

Baldwin’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.

State polls suggest tightening Senate race

While Baldwin has led Hovde in all but one poll of Wisconsin voters this year, surveys of Wisconsin voters since mid-September suggest her lead has been shrinking. A Marquette University Law School poll released Oct. 2 showed Baldwin leading Hovde by 7 percentage points. But another poll released the same day by the Cook Political Report showed her with a 2 point lead. Days later, the Cook report changed their rating for Wisconsin’s Senate race from “Lean D” to “Toss Up.”

In a fundraising pitch posted to the social media site X, Monday, Baldwin said a poll from the National Republican Senatorial Committee suggests 48 percent of Wisconsin respondents said they’d vote for him, with 47 percent saying they’d vote for her.