Eric Hovde says he'll outperform past Republican candidates in liberal bastion Dane County
MADISON — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde says he expects to fare better than Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Republican former gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels in the Democratic stronghold of Dane County in the Nov. 5 election.
Hovde made his comments to reporters Wednesday following a WisPolitics Q&A event at the Madison Club.
"He won't," said Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Arik Wolk in a statement. "But he'll probably do better in Orange County (California) than them."
The real estate and banking mogul said he sees boosted voter engagement as a positive element in his race to deny Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin a third term.
“I’m working hard,” Hovde said. “Do I think I’m going to win (the) Madison area? No. But do I think I’m going to compete better than Sen. (Ron) Johnson, or certainly better than Tim Michels was able to in Madison? Of course. I was born here, raised here, given to more charities. I've had my business here for 20-plus years.”
Johnson, who won his 2022 race, had more than 68,000 votes in Dane County. Michels, who lost, received more than 62,000.
In comparison, Johnson’s Democratic opponent, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, received more than 231,000 votes in Dane County, and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had more than 236,000.
As he enters the sprint toward the Nov. 5 election, Hovde said, his plan is to “work, work, work.”
“Talk to the people about the issues that matter: the economy, number one; the border, number two. Health care, crime,” Hovde said.
Hovde declined to answer a question about his net worth.
According to a financial disclosure form filed last month, Hovde listed assets worth between $195.4 million and $564.5 million, much of it in Madison and Milwaukee real estate holdings, corporate securities and stock in Sunwest Bank, the Utah-based financial institution for which he is chairman and CEO. His liabilities in mortgages and lines of credit range from $11.6 million to $53.3 million.
Democrats have sought to portray Hovde as an out-of-touch "multimillionaire California banker" as a campaign attack line.
“I'm not going to get into that question,” he said. “Why would I? Why would I? I'm successful. You know, in America, part of the American dream is to be successful. Work hard. So I've worked my tail off. I've been a workaholic. I've taken (an) enormous amount of risk. And what have I done with my success? I've built homes all over the world, rescuing and saving children out of slavery, sex trafficking. It's amazing how you guys don't talk about that. If I was a Democrat, you'd be talking about that all the time.”
Hovde was referring to shelters financed by his company’s charitable giving foundation, which he and his brother founded in 1998 with the goal of funding research to find a cure for multiple sclerosis, a disease Hovde was diagnosed with at the age of 27.
His campaign launched two ads on Wednesday highlighting the foundation’s efforts, including 12 homes built in Bolivia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Peru, Rwanda and Wisconsin.
“I'm proud of my success,” Hovde said. “And by the way, if Jordan Love goes down tomorrow, what do we want? We want the most accomplished quarterback to step in for Jordan Love. Well, look at how our economy has been operating. You have people that don't understand how an economy works, how business works, and that's why we are in the position we are in. You have career politicians like Sen. Baldwin (who) has never had to operate in the real world or deal with, you know, people and the struggles that they have to deal with every day.”
Hovde, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for Senate in 2012, is challenging Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin, who is seeking a third term. Baldwin represented the Dane County area in the House of Representatives before she was elected to the Senate.
A Marquette University Law School poll of Wisconsin voters released last week shows Baldwin maintaining a lead in the race.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Eric Hovde says he'll outpace past Republicans in liberal Dane County
