Businessman Eric Hovde has won the Wisconsin Republican primary for the Senate, setting up a critical battleground-state race against Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Baldwin, seeking a third term, is considered a top priority for both parties in the closely divided Senate. Despite being backed by former President Donald Trump and other national Republicans, Hovde faces a tough challenge as Baldwin has built up a sizable campaign war chest and has fared better than the top of the Democratic ticket in recent polling. Hovde, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2012, has already lent his campaign $13 million, but Baldwin maintains a financial edge having spent more than $30 million so far.
The two candidates have already been trading barbs, with Baldwin running ads featuring children of single mothers criticizing Hovde’s comments about children “born out of wedlock.” Hovde, in response, has launched an ad attacking Baldwin’s record on inflation, the border, and crime. Beyond the Senate race, Wisconsin voters also cast ballots in House and local primaries, with business owner Rebecca Cooke winning the Democratic primary in the 3rd District and Tony Wied winning the Republican primary in the 8th District. Meanwhile, voters rejected two proposed constitutional amendments that would have restricted Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ powers.
In Minnesota, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar fended off primary challengers in the solidly blue 5th District, while GOP Rep. Michelle Fischbach won her primary in the deep-red 7th District. In the battleground 2nd District, Democratic Rep. Angie Craig will face Marine veteran Joe Teirab in November. Former NBA player Royce White won the crowded Republican primary for the Senate to take on Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, but defeating Klobuchar would be a tough task as she has won each of her last three races by over 20 percentage points.
Connecticut’s competitive 5th District sees a rematch between Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes and Republican former state Sen. George Logan, with Hayes defeating Logan by just one point in 2020. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy ran unopposed in his primary and is the heavy favorite in the general election against Republican bar owner Matthew Corey, whom he defeated in 2018. In Vermont, Republican Gov. Phil Scott and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are expected to move on to the general election without facing serious competition. Sanders will face Republican Gerald Malloy, while Democrat Esther Charlestin, a former member of the Middlebury Selectboard, won the primary to go up against Scott.
