Eric Hovde vows to donate Senate salary to charity, says in new ad 'he can't be bought'
WASHINGTON – Republican Wisconsin Senate candidate Eric Hovde is pledging to donate his entire salary to a Wisconsin charity if elected in November as part of a campaign claiming he “can’t be bought.”
The multimillionaire banking mogul in a new ad lamented that Washington has become “corrupt,” saying “career politicians sell themselves to special interest” instead of working for their constituents.
“I’ve worked hard, been fortunate. I don’t need their special interest money, and I won’t take it,” Hovde said in the 30-second spot released Friday. “If you decide to elect me as your next senator, I’ll donate my entire salary to a Wisconsin charity every year.”
The pledge comes as Hovde, who owns a Madison-based real estate company and a bank in California, has said he will self-fund much of his campaign and could put tens of millions of his own capital into the race to unseat Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. He said Friday he "can't be bought" and would put Wisconsinites first.
He previously said he would not accept "corporate special interest" dollars. Still, candidates cannot control special interest spending on their behalf. The current Senate salary is $174,000 per year, which is funded by taxpayers.
A spokesperson for Hovde did not say which charities Hovde would donate his salary to but told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Hovde would not donate to his own. Hovde’s charitable foundation, the Hovde Foundation, aims to aid vulnerable children in Africa and Central and South America by helping to provide shelter and educational assistance.
In recent weeks, Hovde has attacked Baldwin, who is seeking her third term in the Senate, for being a “career politician” at the same time Democrats have attempted to paint Hovde as a California millionaire seeking to buy a Wisconsin Senate seat.
Wisconsin Democrats this week called Hovde a “California bank owner who doesn’t share our values and can’t be trusted to fight for us." In addition to the Madison-based commercial and residential real estate company, Hovde leads businesses anchored in California — H Bancorp and its primary subsidiary, Sunwest Bank. During his unsuccessful 2012 Senate campaign, Hovde reported holding assets ranging from roughly $58 million to $240 million.
But Hovde has attempted to push back on those attacks and earlier this month put a focus on highlighting his Wisconsin roots. His pledge Friday echoed past Wisconsin lawmakers.
Former Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, a multi-millionaire who owned the Milwaukee Bucks, self-funded his own campaigns and coined his famous campaign slogan, “Nobody’s Senator but Yours.” Kohl died this past December.
And Russ Feingold, a Democrat who represented Wisconsin in the Senate from 1993 to 2011, pushed to end automatic pay raises for members of Congress.
Wisconsin’s Senate race is expected to be among the most competitive this cycle and is sure to draw in tens of millions of dollars in spending. Baldwin, a proven fundraiser, had just over $8 million in cash in her campaign account at the beginning of the year.
Hovde has suggested he could put upwards of $20 million of his own money into his campaign.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Eric Hovde vows to donate Senate salary to charity in campaign ad
