Wisconsin

Wisconsin Senate candidate Hovde ties Baldwin to Biden at Republican National Convention • Wisconsin Examiner

Published

1 year ago

July 17, 2024

Wisconsin Senate candidate Hovde ties Baldwin to Biden at Republican National Convention • Wisconsin Examiner

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 Senate candidate Eric Hovde called Sen. Tammy Baldwin a “rubber-stamp” for the Biden administration at the Republican National Convention. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

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.”

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin vs. Michigan Game Thread: Can’t let this one slip early

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin vs. Michigan Game Thread: Can’t let this one slip early

The Wisconsin Badgers are taking on the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines on the road on Saturday, with tip-off set for 12:00 p.m. at the Crisler Center on CBS.

Wisconsin has seen some ups and downs this season, failing to secure a Quad 1 win through 15 games, as they’ve gone 0-5 in those opportunities. The team did pick up a nice win at home over the UCLA Bruins earlier this week, using a huge start to stay on top 80-72.

That got Wisconsin to 10-5 and added their third Quad 2 win of the season, but no matchup so far will compare to what the Badgers will face against the Michigan Wolverines, who have started 14-0 this season. Michigan has dominated its competition so far. They’ve beaten three ranked teams so far, and the lowest margin of victory in those games was 30 points.

But the Wolverines did face some trouble earlier this week, narrowly beating the 9-6 Penn State Nittany Lions 74-72 on the road.

Heading into Saturday, the Badgers are seen as 19.5-point underdogs, easily their biggest spread of the season as an underdog. Can they find a way to keep this one competitive?

Join us as our game thread is officially open for Saturday’s game!

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Eli McKown’s rapid reactions from Iowa wrestling victory vs. Wisconsin

Published

20 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Eli McKown’s rapid reactions from Iowa wrestling victory vs. Wisconsin

IOWA CITY — Iowa wrestling rallied to defeat Wisconsin 23-12 in a Big Ten Conference dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes finished with four consecutive wins from 157 to 184, including a pair of pivotal technical falls from Michael Caliendo and Angelo Ferrari.

In the video above, Hawk Central wrestling reporter Eli McKown offers up some instant analysis from Iowa’s victory. Up next, Jan. 16 at home against Penn State.

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Wisconsin teen who killed prison guard in fistfight pleads guilty but claims mental illness

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin teen who killed prison guard in fistfight pleads guilty but claims mental illness

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin teen who killed a prison guard during a fistfight pleaded guilty to homicide Friday but contends he doesn’t deserve prison time because he was mentally ill and not responsible for his actions.

Javarius Hurd, 17, entered a plea of guilty/not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to one count of second-degree reckless homicide in connection with Corey Proulx’s death, online court records show. He also pleaded guilty to one count of battery by a prisoner. Prosecutors dropped a second battery count in exchange for the pleas.

The next step for Hurd will be a February trial in which jurors will determine whether he should be sentenced to prison or committed to a mental institution. Jurors will be asked to determine whether Hurd was indeed suffering from a mental disease at the time of the fight and, if so, whether the mental disease impaired his ability to act within the law.

“Javarius entered into a plea agreement that partially resolves the case involving the sad and tragic death of (Proulx),” Hurd’s attorney, Aaton Nelson, said in an email to The Associated Press. “Javarius, who has had a life filled with trauma and suffering, realizes that nothing will compensate the victims for their loss and suffering. We hope that this agreement will help all those suffering with their healing.”

According to court documents, Hurd was incarcerated at the Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes School, the state’s youth prison in far northern Wisconsin, in June 2024.

He grew upset with a female counselor whom he felt was abusing her powers, threw soap at her and punched her. Hurd ran into the courtyard and Proulx followed to stop him. Hurd punched Proulx several times and Proulx fell, hit his head on the pavement and later died. Hurd was 16 at the time but was charged in adult court.

Another inmate at the youth prison, Rian Nyblom, pleaded guilty to two counts of being a party to battery in connection with the incident and was sentenced to five years in prison this past August.

According to prosecutors, Nyblom knew that Hurd was upset with the female counselor and wanted to splash her with conditioner and punch her. About 15 minutes before the fighting began, he got extra soap and conditioner from guards and secretly gave it to Hurd. Nyblom told investigators that he didn’t see Hurd attack the female counselor but watched as Hurd punched Proulx.

Lincoln Hills-Cooper Lake is Wisconsin’s only youth prison. The facility has been plagued by allegations of staff-on-inmate abuse, including excessive use of pepper spray, restraints and strip searches.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit in 2017 demanding changes at the prison. Then-Gov. Scott Walker’s administration settled the following year by agreeing to a consent decree that prohibited the use of mechanical restraints like handcuffs and the use of pepper spray.

Proulx’s death sparked calls from Republican lawmakers and from Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes staff for more leeway in punishing incarcerated children, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers rejected those calls, insisting conditions at the prison have been slowly improving. A court-appointed monitor assigned to oversee the prison’s progress reported this past October that the facility was fully compliant with the consent decree’s provisions for the first time.

Legislators have been trying to find a way to close the facility for years and replace with it with smaller regional prisons. Those prisons remain under construction, however, and Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake continues to operate.

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