Wisconsin businessman Eric Hovde announced Tuesday that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin now held by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
“It’s official. I’m in! I’m not a politician, and that’s a good thing. It’s time for fresh ideas and leaders who will work to solve the issues that divide us,” Hovde wrote in a post on X.
“I’m running for the U.S. Senate because I’m tired of constant division and finger pointing by politicians. It’s time to send a fighter to Washington who will work to find common ground and restore the American Dream,” Hovde wrote in a separate X post.
“Do you feel like America is slipping away? Our country is facing enormous challenges: our economy, our health care, crime, and open borders. Everything is going in the wrong direction. All Washington does is divide us and talk about who’s to blame. And nothing gets done,” he said in an accompanying video.
I’m running for the U.S. Senate because I’m tired of constant division and finger pointing by politicians.
It’s time to send a fighter to Washington who will work to find common ground and restore the American Dream.
Join me: https://t.co/K21p8GDA11 pic.twitter.com/IB0dwgSZe8
— Eric Hovde (@EricHovde) February 20, 2024
“That’s not the country I know and love,” he said.
“I believe we need to come together and find common-sense solutions, to restore America,” he said.
Hovde is a multi-millionaire, who owns a real estate company based in Madison and some West Coast banking companies, according to NBC.
Will Republicans take back the Senate?
Hovde lost a 2012 Republican Senate primary and considered but did not pursue campaigns for the Senate in 2018 and governor in 2022.
“Eric Hovde’s experience as a job creator rather than a career politician makes him a strong candidate to flip Wisconsin’s Senate seat this year,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Steve Daines of Montana said in a statement, according to The Hill.
“I’m pleased to see Eric enter this race and look forward to welcoming him to the U.S. Senate,” Daines said.
Scott Mayer, a Wisconsin businessman, has been considering a campaign to challenge Baldwin, but said last week he was uncertain if he would run.
In a statement on his campaign website, Hovde said he wants to restore America.
“I was born at a time when our country was strong — economically, socially, and viewed with enormous respect internationally,” he said.
“Now, like many other Americans, I feel like I’m watching that great country diminish as the American Dream becomes further and further out of reach for too many of my fellow citizens,” he said.
“The economic path we’ve been on and the corruption that has been running rampant in Washington, D.C. for the last 15 years, coupled with the disastrous last four years under Joe Biden’s administration … I don’t recognize my country anymore.
“But it doesn’t have to be that way. I believe that we can restore the American Dream by coming together as Americans to solve the problems we face, rebuild our economy, strengthen our communities, and provide strength internationally. It is only through unity and perseverance that we can restore the American Dream for future generations,” he concluded.
