WASHINGTON — Republican Eric Hovde and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin both projected optimism Monday, just hours before Election Day.
“The momentum is clearly on our side,” Hovde said at his campaign stop in Appleton.
“I’m feeling a ton of momentum,” Baldwin said at her own event in Oshkosh.
Baldwin and Hovde criss-crossed the state Monday, with Baldwin at four events and her Republican challenger scheduling six appearances.
Hovde visited BenShot, a glassware company, with Wisconsin’s Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville. Hovde, who is endorsed by Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, has centered his campaign around the idea that it’s time for a change. He said his business background would make him an effective lawmaker.
Once a decided underdog, he trailed Baldwin by just two points among likely voters in the latest Marquette Law School poll, which is within the margin of error. He’s largely focused on kitchen table issues such as the economy and inflation.
“I think everybody recognizes our country has headed in a bad direction the last four years: What’s happened with inflation, the price of basically everything — groceries — everything you buy. Our open border has had so many devastating consequences,” he told reporters Monday.
Baldwin, who has aligned herself with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, was joined during the day by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Baldwin, who has never lost an election, has touted her work on Capitol Hill, including her sponsorship of the amendment to the Affordable Care Act that allows young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they’re 26-years-old. In a third term, she said she’d like to restore the nationwide right to an abortion with federal legislation.
“I lead an effort in the United States Senate called the Women's Health Protection Act, which would make Roe v. Wade the law of the land,” Baldwin said. “And so people who care about their health care, people who care about their rights and freedoms, people who care about their democracy, need to get out and vote.”
This race has national implications. A Baldwin-defeat would almost certainly doom the Democrats’ chances of remaining the majority party in the Senate.