Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde has out-fundraised incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in the race, but the majority of Hovde’s funding came from himself.
Hovde raised $9.1 million in the first quarter of 2024, more than the $5.4 million Baldwin raised in the same time. However, $8 million of the funds came from a loan Hovde took out to fund his campaign effort.
“In just a little more than a month, grassroots Wisconsinites have sent a strong message that they are excited about Eric Hovde and are ready to retire 40-year career politician Sen. Baldwin,” Ben Voelkel, Hovde’s campaign adviser, told the Washington Examiner. He also noted that donations came from more than 2,200 unique Wisconsinites over the course of five weeks.
Baldwin has been representing Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate since 2013 and previously represented Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District in the House from 1999-2013. Wisconsin is one of five states that currently have politically split Senate delegations, with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) having represented the state since 2011.
Hovde previously ran for Senate in 2012, but did not advance after the primary. Then, he loaned his campaign $5.9 million.
“California bank owner Eric Hovde is spending his own California money trying to buy Wisconsin’s Senate seat. Wisconsinites deserve to know how and where Hovde made his money as he spends his millions of dollars to buy this Senate seat for himself and his wealthy MAGA allies,” Arik Wolk, rapid response director for the Wisconsin Democrats, told the Washington Examiner.
Using personal funds for one’s own campaign is not necessarily uncommon. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Alex Lasry, a former Milwaukee Bucks executive, spent $15 million of his own funds to fuel his campaign in the Democratic primary in 2022 to unseat Johnson. Lasry was not successful in the Democratic primary.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Baldwin campaign has spent $3.2 million and will go into the summer campaign season with $10.3 million on hand. In the race so far, Hovde spent $3.7 million, leaving him with $5.3 million.
Wisconsin has a near-even split between registered Republicans and Democrats. It is one of seven key battleground states going into the 2024 general election.