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.”