Senate candidate Eric Hovde tied Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the Wisconsin Democrat seeking a third term, to President Joe Biden at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday, calling her a “rubber-stamp” for his administration in his speech. 

The multimillionaire Republican businessman is challenging Baldwin, who has served in the seat since 2013, in a year where the seat could make a difference in control of the U.S. Senate. As Hovde took the stage, he was met by cheers from the Wisconsin delegation, many of whom were waving Hovde campaign signs in the air. 

“America’s struggling under Joe Biden and Senator Baldwin has been a rubber stamp holding with him 95.5% of the time,” Hovde said. During the five-minute speech, he said the Biden administration and Baldwin are responsible for increasing national debt, inflation and crime at the southern border. 

“Where Biden and Baldwin have failed, President [Donald] Trump and I will get the job done,” Hovde said. 

Hovde also called for people to move past divisions, which he blamed on “the left” and called for unity, which is an ongoing theme for the convention. 

“We need to put on the red, white, blue jersey and come together as Americans. They heal this country from the division that the left has brought,” Hovde said. “And the media, you have to stop fighting us, and we can come together… We will restore America, but it’s gonna take everyone getting involved.” 

Wisconsin delegates reacted positively to the speech, saying they wanted to see Hovde elected to help the Republican party get things done under a potential second Trump presidency. 

Wisconsin state Sen. Cory Tomczyk of Mosinee said he wants to see Hovde help work towards achieving the “Trump agenda” in the U.S. Senate. 

“I want to see that support given to President Trump. I want to see him get things back on track and then I want us to set up for the next four years [and] after the next four years of President Trump,” Tomczyk said.

Tomczyk noted that the contrast between Hovde and Baldwin is “pretty black and white,” saying that Hovde is a more “rounded out” candidate and he supports his position on “girls in sports” — a reference to policies of keeping transgender girls off of girls teams — and economics.

“Businessmen and household managers, household moms, household dads know better about managing money than some of the people that we have in Washington,” Tomczyk said. “I’m not sure what Tammy Baldwin’s history is. I think she’s just holding a place she got in and now she’s just camping out there. I think people are tired of having someone in any of those positions for too long.”

Wisconsin State Treasurer John Leiber said Hovde’s speech at the RNC was one of his best that he’s given, and that the conviction is going to get Wisconsinites paying attention to the race. A recent poll from Marquette Law School showed that Baldwin is leading Hovde. 

“As they say, the only poll that matters is on Election Day, and I don’t think it’s uncommon for a challenger to still have some name recognition to work on,” Leiber said. “It’s still four months out.” 

“It’s really important that voters don’t just vote for Donald Trump, but they vote for Eric Hovde as well because without the Senate, then we’re going to be stuck,” Leiber said, adding that he appreciated Hovde’s message about unity. “We want to bring the whole team of Republicans there and really make some changes in Washington.”

Leiber said Hovde’s focus on inflation is a point that will connect with Wisconsin voters. 

“I don’t think people really need to be convinced there is inflation, it obviously exists and there’s only one party that’s talking about it as a problem and is pledging to do something about it,” Leiber said. “I’m afraid that Democrats seem to want to tell us that everything’s fine.” 

Wisconsin Democratic Party Rapid Response Director Arik Wolk responded to Hovde’s speech in a statement, saying that Wisconsinites will reject Hovde come November. 

“Nothing out-of-touch California multimillionaire Eric Hovde said on stage can change the fact that for months, Wisconsinites have heard him make disparaging remarks about folks across the state while pushing policies to benefit himself and his wealthy buddies,” Wolk said.

In the current campaign cycle Democrats have doggedly pointed out that Hovde owns a $7 million home located in California and that he made remarks that “almost nobody in a nursing home” is at a point where they are capable of voting. He later had to clarify that he doesn’t oppose seniors voting.

Wolk added that Wisconsinites will reelect “Baldwin, who spends every minute working for Wisconsin families–from protecting made-in-America manufacturing, to standing up to Big Pharma, and defending our reproductive freedoms.”

PLOVER, Wis. (WSAW) – We’ve certainly had a rainy summer so far and while the rain may help some of our farmers, it can also impact them negatively. Especially when flooding happens in their fields.

Okray Family Farm in Plover has 130 acres of potatoes, and Irrigation Manager John Deltor says out of all their crops affected, the potatoes were hurt the most. The farm hasn’t had to water their crops as much with the amount of rain we’ve had, but they are still running into obstacles.

“Flooded areas,” Deltor said. “Even flooded areas after you plant, cause then it’s just going to drown out your crop. Wet areas have been the biggest obstacle.”

Deltor says the worst has already been done. Now he’s hoping for a drier second half of the summer.

“All your wet areas are already drowned down. If it continues to rain like it has, you’re going to lose more and more,” Deltor said. “Diseases will really start to take an effect.”

If the rain continues, it will affect their harvest season which usually starts after Labor Day.

“This field we’re anywhere from 20-30% of this field’s not going to be able to be harvested,” Deltor explained.

Another crop that was impacted was peas.

“They’re a lot closer to harvest,” Deltor said. “They were planted a little later, so they haven’t seen that effect yet as much.”

So, whether it’s a field of potatoes or a field of peas, Deltor says one of the biggest things he and his team have learned this summer was how to adapt to muddy and rainy situations.

Copyright 2024 WSAW. All rights reserved.

MILWAUKEE (WMTV) – Multiple Wisconsin Republicans voiced their excitement Monday as former President Trump announced his choice for his running mate.

Madison delegate Terrence Wall and his dog Lambeau were soaking in the support for Donald Trump on Monday. Wall was excited that Trump picked Ohio Senator JD Vance.

“The opinion of the floor, it’s very clear they’re overwhelmingly positive on him as a VP choice,” Wall said.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker thinks choosing Vance was a smart choice.

“A Midwesterner, obviously happy being from the Midwest to have someone who gets the Big Ten and everything that’s about the middle of the country,” Walker said.

Walker said he thinks it added to the excitement of night one, and a feeling of unity after the attempted assassination of Trump at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend.

“I think the party really came together after weekend and people are just 100% united to help Trump again,” Wall said.

“We can have a fierce debate over the issues, but our opponents are not our enemies and I hope he talks about that,” Walker said.

Chairman of WisGOP Brian Schimming pointed to three positives- Vance’s youth, being from the Midwest and he has a good record in the Senate.

“I think he will do well in Wisconsin,” Schimming said. “It’s nice to have a Midwesterner on the ticket but I also can’t wait, I’ll be selling tickets to see the debate between him and Vice President Harris. Can’t wait for it.”

Democratic Party Chair of Wisconsin Ben Wikler released a statement, Vance as a vice presidential candidate makes the stakes of the election higher.

“Should Donald Trump win another term in the White House, there’s no question that J.D. Vance would put loyalty to Trump and the GOP’s extreme agenda over the country,” Wikler said. “In election after election, we’ve seen Wisconsinites reject the extreme, anti-freedom Trump-Vance agenda—and they’ll do it again this November.”

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos talked about meeting Vance while he was on his book tour and said he enjoyed meeting him. Vos said he believes Wisconsin voters will relate to Vance when it comes to his Midwestern values.

“His story is one that really tells about the greatness of America, started from very humble beginnings, worked through law school, got to do all those, was an author, obviously got elected to the United States Senate, and now to be the potential vice president,” Vos said, “It’s the story of America; somebody from very humble beginnings working their way all the top of the political structure but never forgetting where he came from and that’s what’s going to be important in this race.”

Vos talked about his excitement for welcoming delegates from across the country to Milwaukee, and said he feels there is no question about support for former President Trump in the Badger State as he discussed unity within the Republican Party.

“I think we’re already really unified, people had already coalesced around President Trump way back in the spring,” Vos said. “The Party is unified, you heard it today as you went through the roll call. The state’s people are excited to vote for Donald Trump and more importantly they’re really excited to get rid of Joe Biden.”

Speaker Vos also said he feels confident the rest of the convention will go smoothly and he’s eager for his fellow Republicans to enjoy what Wisconsin has to offer.

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