What do Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators do?
The U.S. Senate is made up of 100 senators, with two senators representing each state. Senators write and vote on laws that govern every state in the U.S., and decide how federal tax dollars are spent.
What’s at stake?
This election will help decide which party controls the U.S. Senate and Congress. If Democrats retain control of the Senate and add to their number of seats, it could create an easier pathway for legislation to be enacted by a potential Harris-Walz administration. A Democratic majority could ensure that conservative legislation — like a total abortion ban in the U.S. — is unable to be enacted. If Republicans gain control of the Senate, they would make it easier for a potential Trump-Vance administration to enact legislation. This could allow them to pass conservative legislation and ensure that liberal legislation — like a law legalizing abortion nationwide — is unable to be enacted.
Who are the candidates?
Tammy Baldwin
Biography: Tammy Baldwin has represented Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate since 2013. She began her career in politics as a Dane County Supervisor in 1986. Baldwin grew up in Madison. She earned a B.A. from Smith College and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law school. Baldwin is the first openly LGBT senator in U.S. history.
Party: Democrat
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Select endorsements: Human Rights Campaign, United Auto Workers, NARAL Pro-Choice America, AFT-Wisconsin (American Federation of Teachers), IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 2150.
Eric Hovde
Biography: Eric Hovde is the CEO of Hovde Properties, the business founded by his grandfather in 1933. Hovde is also the CEO of Sunwest Bank, a bank owned by his family's business. Hovde grew up in Madison and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and his brother also founded a charitable organization called the Hovde Foundation. Hovde has spent much of his adult life living outside of Wisconsin with his family, in Washington D.C. and California.
Party: Republican
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Select endorsements: Former President Donald Trump, Americans for Prosperity, Republican Party of Wisconsin, National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Where do candidates stand on key issues?
Inflation
Baldwin: Baldwin has called inflation "greedflation" on the part of corporations, who have recorded record-high profits since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Baldwin voted for the Inflation Reduction Act and helped introduce the Price Gouging Prevention Act of 2024, which would ban corporate price gouging. Baldwin has also introduced the Stop Predatory Investing Act, which would remove tax breaks for corporate investors who buy Wisconsin properties, something that has contributed to rising home costs in Wisconsin communities.
Hovde: Hovde has spoken out against what he believes is reckless spending on the part of the government. He says the U.S. needs to work on decreasing the national debt by returning federal spending to "2019 levels" and deregulate corporations to ensure they're able to grow. In the last quarter of 2023, corporate profits reached an all-time high of $2.8 trillion.
Abortion
Baldwin: Baldwin believes people should have a right to choose abortion and crafted the Women's Health Protection Act, which would codify abortion access into federal law and remove some barriers at the state level, including 24-hour waiting periods and ultrasound requirements.
Hovde: Hovde believes abortion should be legal in early pregnancy, but he has refused to specify what would constitute an "early pregnancy." He also believes there should be "exceptions for rape and incest," but in most states that have them, these exceptions have been practically unusable. Hovde doesn't believe anything could be done at the federal level and thinks states should decide their abortion policies individually. Hovde believes Wisconsinites should be allowed vote on the state's abortion policy. In Wisconsin, citizens can't introduce binding referendum, meaning this would require the currently Republican-led legislature to introduce a constitutional amendment.
Immigration
Baldwin: Baldwin supported the Border Act of 2024, a bipartisan bill that addressed the crisis at the border through funding new security tools at the border and allocating funds for areas with large migrant communities. Baldwin also introduced the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act to address drug trafficking at the border.
Hovde: Hovde says the Border Act of 2024 wouldn't have done enough to address the issue at the border, but he hasn't presented an alternative plan. He is concerned about the crisis at the border and has connected immigration with a wide-array of social issues including rising health insurance costs and city budgets, and crimes like murder, rape and drug trafficking. Data on immigrant criminality doesn't support these claims.
Guns
Baldwin: Baldwin supports stricter gun control laws, universal background checks, and a ban on assault weapons, generally defined as semi-automatic firearms with large-capacity magazines (a device that feeds ammunition into a firearm). She has introduced several pieces of legislation on the issue, including the Background Check Expansion Act, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2023, and the Safer Communities Act. She describes herself as a "proud gun owner."
Hovde: Hovde doesn't believe there should be new restrictions on "law-abiding citizens," but believes that current restrictions should be enforced more rigorously. Hovde blames gun violence on mental health issues, and believes we need to increase access to mental healthcare to combat the problem of gun violence. He also blames gun violence on video games and social media, and supports laws that would limit access to social media platforms for people under the age of 13, and adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age.
