Baldwin Outraises Hovde in Wisconsin US Senate Race
Far behind in fundraising, Hovde has used $13 million in personal loans to keep up.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin mingles before speaking ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, at Sanmina in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
In Wisconsin’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin reported a significant fundraising edge over Republican business executive Eric Hovde last month. But with $13 million in personal loans to his campaign since he entered the race in February, Hovde has largely kept pace with Baldwin’s spending.
Baldwin raised nearly $2.6 million dollars between July 1 and July 24, according to a filing with the Federal Elections Commission. Of that, just more than $2.1 million came from individual donors. A WisPolitics analysis of Baldwin’s fundraising figures shows $773,270 from Baldwin’s haul came from people who donated $200 or less. Baldwin also collected $153,800 from political committees, including $57,800 from political party committees and around $96,000 from political action committees. During the July reporting period, the Democratic U.S. senator from Madison spent around $3.5 million. She ended the reporting period with around $6.3 million in available cash.
Hovde was far behind Baldwin in terms of fundraising, with just $374,219 collected from last month. He received nothing from political party committees and accepted $6,500 from political action committees.
Hovde was still able to spend around $2.6 million on his race, according to his FEC filing. Most of the money Hovde has spent during his campaign has come from a total of $13 million in loans he’s made since he entered the race in February. He finished the reporting period with around $3.1 million in cash. The latest polling from the Marquette University Law School, released June 25, showed 45 percent of registered voters saying they support Baldwin compared to 38 percent who support Hovde. Among likely voters, Baldwin led Hovde 49-40, with another 11 percent undecided. Marquette is set to release new survey results Aug. 7.
Baldwin has led Hovde in nearly every poll conducted this year, according to a summary from Real Clear Politics. The most recent poll, released on July 26 by Fox News, showed Baldwin ahead of Hovde by 11 percentage points.
Baldwin outraises Hovde in Wisconsin US Senate Race was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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