Eric Hovde, a millionaire businessman, became the Republican Senate primary winner in Wisconsin on Tuesday. In order to win the primaries, Hovde had to overcome the farmer Charles Barman and Rejani Raveendran, who is the Chair of College Republicans at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Who’s Eric Hovde?
Eric Hovde gained his wealth through real estate and banking. He is co-owner and CEO of a Wisconsin based real estate development company.
Eric Hovde Madison native attended East High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.He started his first company in his twenties and has launched many others since then.
At 27 years old, Eric was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune disease that he still deals with today. At age 30s, together with Steve his brother they established The Hovde Foundation which has created ten “Hovde Homes” aimed at helping distressed children and families spanning across Wisconsin and around the globe.
Eric Hovde is supported by national Republicans and has received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Such victory resulted from beating two opponents during GOP election. In the future elections, he will face off against Democratic senator Tammy Baldwin.
Back in 2012, he ran for Senate seat but lost narrowly to Tommy Thompson during Republican primaries. However, Tommy Thompson would also fail in general election against Tammy Baldwin who remains holding onto that seat till today.
What makes this important for Wisconsin?
The Republicans need nine seats if they are going to regain control of Senate in November while this is one of the most expensive races in America so far as Axios reports at least $110m spent by Republicans.
However it has been reported that millions of dollars from his own pockets have been put into this campaign by Havdah just to level him up with others.
Also former President Donald Trump endorses him; thus depending on how much influence Trump has in Wisconsin. A state he barely won in 2016 but lost last year will determine whether this support will pan out for him.
Hovde’s campaign has been criticized for not effectively challenging Baldwin’s voting record and making inflammatory statements like accusing nursing homes of engaging in voter fraud. Nevertheless, the campaign is optimistic with one spokesperson predicting close races both for the Senate and presidency.
She has criticized Baldwin for her long tenure in Washington, promising that she would focus on reducing costs, securing borders and dealing with healthcare issues.
In return, Tammy portrayed Eric Hovde as wealthy outsider that does not know anything about Wisconsin people emphasizing that she puts local families first above all else.
Tammy Baldwin was elected to the Senate from Democrat Party ranks in 2012 after serving seven terms as a Representative. She became the first female from Wisconsin to be elected to Congress and was also the first openly gay person in both houses of Congress.
