Hovde Plays MAGA Hits in RNC Speech

U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde at 2024 Republican National Convention. Photo taken July 16, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

Senate hopeful Eric Hovde played the MAGA hits Tuesday during a roughly five-minute speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee.

Hovde, who is trying to unseat long-serving Sen. Tammy Baldwin, attacked President Joe Biden and Baldwin, blaming them for making the U.S. “less safe.” The theme of the convention’s second day was “Make America Safe Again.”

Hovde was endorsed by former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in April. Hovde, like many Republican candidates who spoke Tuesday night, gave speeches aimed at many of Trump’s favorite targets, like the border crisis and the media.

Hovde took the stage immediately following a fiery speech by Kari Lake, who began by pointing at the press and calling them “fake news” to the excitement of many on the convention floor.

Hovde, a banker, was less animated in his attacks on the media than the former television anchor Lake.

“And media, you have to stop dividing us,” he said, toward the end of his speech.

Hovde is the chairman and CEO of the California-based Sunwest Bank. Democrats have found fodder for political attacks in Hovde’s ties to California, which include a mansion in Laguna Beach, California. Hovde appeared to address these questions about his residency early in his speech.

“I’m proud to be running for the United States Senate from the great State of Wisconsin,” Hovde said, “where my family has lived for more than 100 years.”

But Hovde quickly returned to the theme of the night, safety.

“They’ve made us less safe at home, with their defund the police movement,” Hovde said. “And Biden, with his border-czar Vice President [Kamala] Harris, opened our southern border, allowing criminals and terrorists to enter our country. They’ve emboldened drug cartels to flood our streets with fentanyl killing over 100,000 Americans every year.”

As he has done throughout his campaign, Hovde tied his opponent Baldwin to President Biden. He repeated his campaign line about Baldwin being a “rubber stamp” and agreeing with Biden “99.5% of the time.”

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