Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin Accuses Her GOP Opponent Eric Hovde Of Trying To ‘Buy Seat’

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin has accused businessman Eric Hovde of trying to “buy” her U.S. Senate seat.

On Tuesday, Hovde easily defeated two other candidates in the GOP primary. Hovde won 86.3% of the vote,  Charles Barman won 7.4%, and Rejani Raveendran got 6.3%.

Now, Hovde will face Baldwin, the long-time incumbent of the seat. Baldwin was first elected in 2012 and spent seven terms in the House before her election into the Senate. She has spent $31 million this cycle. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Wisconsin and the first openly LGBTQ member of the Senate.

Baldwin has shown her support for Vice President Kamala Harris‘ presidential campaign and spoke at her rally in Eau Claire last week.

Hovde is a real estate CEO and a commercial business bank CEO. He was recruited by national Republicans, who were looking to recruit Republicans who would fund their campaigns. So far, Hovde has loaned his campaign $13 million, proving the GOP’s success at finding wealthy self-funding candidates. Former President Donald Trump also endorses Hovde.

Hovde first ran for the Senate in 2012 but lost the bid to former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who Baldwin defeated in the election.

Before Hovde, party leaders tried to push Rep. Mike Gallagher (R) to run, but Gallagher left Congress to accept a job at a venture capital firm.

Following the election, Baldwin posted on social media to criticize Hovde for trying to “buy the seat.”

Republicans need to flip two seats to win the majority in the Senate, making the battleground state elections crucial. The West Virginia seat is very likely to flip in November. 

Democrats hope to hold onto seats in crucial states, including Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.