Wisconsin
Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Hovde promises to donate salary to charity
Madison, Wis. – Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde pledged in a new campaign ad Friday to donate his salary to charity if elected, a move that comes as Democrats try to paint the California bank owner and real estate mogul as an out-of-touch multimillionaire.
Hovde has suggested he will spend as much as $20 million of his own money in the race to defeat Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. The race is one of a few that could determine if Democrats maintain majority control of the Senate.
“I’ve worked hard, been fortunate,” Hovde says in the ad. “I don’t need their special interest money, and I won’t take it.”
Hovde promises to give his entire $174,000 taxpayer-funded salary to a Wisconsin charity every year. His spokesperson, Ben Voelkel, said the exact charities are yet to be determined, but they would not include the Hovde Foundation, a charity run by Hovde’s family.
“I can’t be bought,” Hovde says in the spot, where he promises not to be subject to special interests. Hovde has already said he won’t accept donations from corporate special interests, but he also can’t control how they spend their money in a campaign.
Hovde faces nominal opposition in the August Republican primary. The general election is Nov. 5.
Hovde was born and raised in Wisconsin, but also owns a $7 million estate in Laguna Beach, California, and is CEO of California-based H Bancorp and its primary subsidiary, Sunwest Bank. He is also CEO of Hovde Properties, a Madison-based real estate firm started by his grandfather in 1933.
Hovde has not said if he would divest from his financial holdings if elected.
Hovde’s net worth as of 2012, the last time he ran for Senate, was at least $52 million. Hovde lost in the Republican primary that year to former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who lost to Baldwin.
Hovde and his backers have tried to portray Baldwin, who was first elected to Congress in 1998, as a career politician who has spent too much time in elected office. She spent six years in the state Legislature before being elected to Congress.
Baldwin and Democrats, meanwhile, have painted Hovde as an out-of-touch Californian. Hovde tried to combat that image by submerging himself in a Madison lake in February. He challenged Baldwin to do it and she declined.
“Wisconsin voters will see Eric Hovde for who he is: a megamillionaire, California bank owner who doesn’t share our values and can’t be trusted to fight for us,” Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson Arik Wolk said in response to Hovde’s charity pledge.
Hovde’s promise to donate his salary to charity is reminiscent of former Democratic U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, also a multimillionaire, whose slogan was “Nobody’s Senator but Yours.” Kohl accepted his salary as a senator, which was then $89,500 when he joined in 1989, but returned all of the pay raises to the treasury. Kohl died in December.
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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