WASHINGTON — Watch television in Wisconsin and it’s clear: The race for U.S. Senate is under way. Incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin and Republican challenger Eric Hovde have launched dueling ad campaigns in a rush to define themselves and each other to voters.
In his first TV commercial, Hovde shows images of his early life in Wisconsin, a direct response to efforts by Democrats portraying Hovde as a carpetbagger who spends more time on the Left Coast than in Wisconsin.
Hovde’s wife Sharon narrates the ad, speaking to his character as a father, businessman and philanthropist. A campaign spokesperson for Hovde told Spectrum News that Hovde is a “political outsider,” and the ad aims to “introduce him to voters and dispel the lies Democrats are telling Wisconsin voters.”
Hovde grew up in Wisconsin and graduated from UW-Madison. The Republican entrepreneur spent many years in Washington, D.C. and owns a home and business in California but says he has been in Wisconsin since 2011, before he last ran for Senate and lost.
“He's got to answer that question and convince voters that he really is out to represent Wisconsin, and where he has lived while conducting business is not what defines him as a candidate,” said Charles Franklin, a professor of law and public policy at Marquette Law School.
In another spot, Hovde says he can’t be bought by special interest groups and would donate his Senate salary to a Wisconsin charity every year. His campaign says the exact charity is to be determined, but it’ll likely be different ones and not his own, the Hovde Foundation.
Hovde also has a digital ad and website called Bobble Baldwin, where he argues his rival is in lockstep with President Joe Biden on issues such as immigration.
“President Biden has a 41% job approval rating in the state. So I think that's an opening attempt to undermine Baldwin by connecting her to an unpopular president,” Franklin said.
Although Baldwin has been an elected official in Wisconsin for more than 30 years, she is using her early advertising to reintroduce herself to voters and reinforce the work she’s done for them in Washington.
Ben Wikler, the chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said moving forward, Baldwin will distinguish herself from Hovde on key issues, such as reproductive health care and Social Security, and point out projects that she’s helped get funding for.
“It really starts with your perspective,” Wikler said. “Do you have a Wisconsin perspective? Or do you have the perspective of someone who has a $7 million mansion on the only private beach in Laguna Beach, California? And I think that's why this question of, ‘California Hovde versus Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin,’ speaks to the broader issues at stake in the Senate race.”
In her first television ad of this race, Baldwin reminds voters that she has fought for American jobs and opposed Chinese imports, which received support from both former president Donald Trump and Biden.
“It's a very good example of a positive ad that implicitly reaches to those male blue collar workers who have been tilting Republican, and trying to say to them, ‘I'm a Democrat, and I'm doing this work for you as well,’” Franklin said.
According to an ad tracking site, AdImpact, about $16 million in advertising has been spent on this race so far: WinSenate has spent $13.8 million, Hovde’s team has spent at least $1.7 million, and Baldwin’s campaign has spent about $323,000, with $30,000 on her television ad and $293,000 on the digital spots.
This reflects the competitive nature of a contest that could determine which party controls the Senate next year.