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    • Tammy Baldwin defeats Eric Hovde in Senate race
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    Tammy Baldwin defeats Eric Hovde in Senate race

    Harry Posted on

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    Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin’s winning streak continues.

    On a night when Republicans were racing across the country, Baldwin turned the tide by narrowly defeating GOP challenger Eric Hovde to secure a third term in the U.S. Senate.

    “It is clear that voters have spoken and our campaign has won,” Baldwin said in a statement. “The people of Wisconsin elected someone who always puts Wisconsin first, shows up to get the job done, listens and works with everyone.”

    With 99% of the votes counted, Baldwin led Hovde by 49.4% to 48.5% (a margin of 28,958 votes) in a race that attracted attention and big money from around the country. The Associated Press called the race for Baldwin on Wednesday afternoon.

    Baldwin officials said the numbers were not final, but he had taken the lead and the gap was too large for Hovde to make up. The Democratic incumbent trailed his Republican rival throughout the evening until Milwaukee announced absentee voting results shortly before 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.

    Hovde had yet to concede as of midday Wednesday.

    Around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, Hovde sent his supporters home, but not before placing blame for the close contest on America First candidate Thomas Leager. A person recruited to govern by a small group of Democrats masquerading as conservatives. Leager, a far-right gun rights advocate, received more than 28,717 votes as of Wednesday afternoon. That number is 241 votes short of Baldwin’s margin of victory.

    “It’s unfortunate if the Democrats hadn’t built a facility, it probably would have been called for some time ago,” Hovde said. he said. “But you know what? It is what it is.”

    In a post published on

    In Wisconsin, a candidate can request a recount if the official count shows the candidate losing by 1 percentage point or less. If a candidate trails by less than a quarter point, the state will cover the costs of the recount. If the candidate falls behind by between a quarter point and 1 point, the campaign will have to pay several million dollars to cover the cost of the recount.

    Baldwin edged out Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who lost to former President Donald Trump by nearly 29,000 votes.

    The landslide victory means Baldwin still hasn’t lost a race in his 38 years in politics, during which he rose steadily from Dane County supervisor to federal legislator.

    In his statement, Baldwin said Wisconsin voters rejected wealthy individuals and special interest groups who “want to come into our state and spread hatred and division and buy their way to power.”

    “I am proud to return to the Senate as we embrace our state motto, Forward, and continue to fight for the workers, farmers and families that make our state great,” Baldwin said. “It is an honor from the bottom of my heart to serve the people of Wisconsin.”

    Baldwin will serve in the minority in the U.S. Senate after Republicans lost control of the upper chamber on Tuesday night.

    Hovde, 60, was making his second bid for the U.S. Senate. He lost the four-way Republican primary in 2012 and finished second to former Gov. Tommy Thompson.

    Some Republicans were already suggesting Hovde should consider running for another office.

    “If he wants to run, he’s automatically the front-runner in the Republican Party’s race for governor,” said one prominent Republican, pointing to 2026.

    The race, which did not feature a competitive primary, began as a quiet affair. However, this situation has changed in the last two months. Baldwin accuses Hovde of unfairly invading his personal life, and Hovde claims Baldwin spread lies about him in his ads. The two had heated arguments during their only debate last month.

    During the summer, Madison’s incumbent 7.8 points ahead He’s ahead of his GOP rival in the average of all Real Clear Politics poll numbers. But there was this clue decreased to 1 point In the latest Marquette Law School Poll from last week.

    Analysts have pointed to a number of factors that helped Hovde cut into Baldwin’s once significant lead. Among other things, voters from both parties lined up behind their respective party’s candidate as Election Day approached. In the past, Baldwin has managed to garner overwhelming support from Republicans. Hovde also took every opportunity he could until Tuesday to appear on television and radio, especially on conservative channels.

    Both candidates spent big money during the race

    Baldwin It collected a record of 52.3 million dollars during his six-year Senate term — a 40% increase from the money he raised and spent in 2018. By comparison, Democratic Governor Tony Evers He spent $43.3 million to seek re-election in 2022.

    Baldwin, now the 76th richest senator, has invested no money in his race. His maximum net worth is just over $1 million. According to annual financial files.

    In contrast, Hovde, a banking and real estate mogul, largely bore the cost of his campaign. Of the $29.5 million he raised for the competition, at least 20 million dollars It came from his own pocket.

    Hovde has assets, according to his financial disclosure form Between $195.4 million and $564.5 millionMost of them are in real estate holdings in Madison and Milwaukee, corporate securities and shares of Sunwest Bank, the Utah-based financial institution of which he is president and CEO.

    Beyond all this, external groups spent more than $100 million blew up two islands.

    Attack ads lower Baldwin and Hovde’s favorability ratings

    Many of these TV ads attacked Baldwin and his partner, Maria Brisbane, a private wealth advisor in New York. Hovde presented the relationship this way: a potential conflict of interestin an advertisementBaldwin in bed with Wall Street“

    Baldwin and other Democrats in TV ads crude attempt to highlight the fact that she is a lesbian. Baldwin is the country’s first openly gay senator.

    Additionally, Hovde and Republican groups cut many ads going after Baldwin about transgender issuesIt’s something Republicans are doing across the country and in the presidential race.

    Baldwin and Democrats, meanwhile, have persistently argued that Hovde is out of touch with Wisconsinites because of his ties to California. He owns a $7 million home in Laguna Beach. They also used many of Hovde’s past statements against him; These included statements that overweight people should pay more for health care, that nursing home residents should not vote, and that he understands Black culture because his foundation does work in Africa.

    Many of Baldwin’s ads ended with the question: “What’s wrong with this guy?”

    According to the latest Marquette survey, advertising has had an impact; Both candidates’ favorability ratings were underwater.

    The survey revealed that Baldwin was viewed positively by 45%, negatively by 50%, and 5% did not express any opinion. Hovde is viewed positively by 36% and negatively by 48%. About 15 percent of voters had no opinion about him.

    Mary Spicuzza and Madeline Heim contributed to this article.

    Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.

    This story has been updated to add new information.

    Harry
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