Eric Hovde will challenge Democrat Tammy Baldwin for Senate, NRSC chair says

WASHINGTON – Republicans appear to have their candidate to challenge Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2024: Eric Hovde.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wednesday that the wealthy Madison banking mogul will enter the race in the near future with the backing of the Senate GOP’s top campaign arm.

“Eric Hovde is gonna get in that race,” Daines, a Montana Republican, said during a brief interview outside the Senate’s subway system. “We’re behind him.”

Hovde declined a Journal Sentinel request for comment Wednesday evening. A source close to Hovde said he is "continuing to talk with supporters and is looking forward to spending time with family and friends over the holidays."

Still, Daines' comments are the clearest sign to date that Republicans will field a viable candidate to face Baldwin for a battleground seat that is likely to play a key role in determining the balance of the Senate. No big-name Republican has yet to formally announce a run less than a year before the election, but Hovde's name has been at the top of the list of potential contenders since several of the state's federal lawmakers pulled their names from consideration.

Scott Mayer, a businessman from Franklin, and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who has been in a public feud with national Republicans, are also considering Senate runs.

Reached for comment Wednesday, Mayer dismissed Daines' remarks. "The NRSC does not elect people," Mayer told the Journal Sentinel. "The people in the state elect the candidates."

"They are really immaterial to me," Mayer added of the NRSC, saying the group would "100%" back him if Hovde doesn't get in the race. "It's the people of the Wisconsin that elect the candidate... and I've got enough support from all the wealthy Wisconsin connections that are out there that we're all aware of that if I run I will get plenty of support from the people in Wisconsin, which is more important to me than people outside the state."

Mayer labeled false a statement Daines made to the Journal Sentinel saying Mayer would not run if Hovde entered the race. Mayer said he's met with Daines but does not recall saying that.

"I do know that none of us want a bloody primary in Wisconsin," Mayer said. "I can tell you that."

Hovde, however, is no stranger to statewide elections like Mayer and Clarke. He finished a close second to former Wisconsin Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson in the 2012 Senate primary and contemplated a 2018 Senate run.

(Mayer on Wednesday pointed out that Hovde has "said a handful of times in the past he was going to (run) and never did.")

In recent months, Hovde sold off more than $4.3 million in stock — money the multi-millionaire could put toward the beginnings of a Senate run. But he told the Journal Sentinel at the time that the transactions had "nothing to do with politics."

While there is no clear timeline of when Republicans might make announcements, Republicans in the state have marked early 2024 as a likely date for declarations.

Mayer told the Journal Sentinel last month that he's looking at January and February to make his own decision. And Clarke on the John Fredricks show Wednesday suggested he would make an announcement "as we get into the New Year, early in the New Year."

More: Bice: David Clarke is talking about a Senate bid. Here's what he says about Jan 6 and the Proud Boys

Baldwin's campaign declined to comment on Daines' remarks, though the Madison Democrat issued a plea for donations Thursday, referencing the news that Hovde planned to enter the race. A spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, however, was quick to label the potential Republican Senate primary "brutal."

"As Mitch McConnell and D.C. Republicans get behind a megamillionaire California bank owner, another megamillionaire is teasing a run and a MAGA Sheriff is waiting in the wings," said Arik Wolk, a rapid response director for the state Democrats. "All of the Republicans lining up to run against Tammy Baldwin are out of touch with Wisconsin values."

Hovde, for his part, has remained quiet as he considers his run, speaking on occasion to county Republican groups across the state.

Mayer, too, has been making the rounds. He told the Journal Sentinel last month that he's "had meetings with the big players in the state," including the Republican mega-donors Dick and Liz Uihlein.

"I'm doing all my appropriate due diligence that any business person would do," Mayer said. "I’ve met with all the appropriate people."

But Daines and national Republicans have their sights fixed on Hovde.

"We’re planning on seeing Eric Hovde make some announcements here in the not-too-distant future," Daines told the Journal Sentinel. "And he’ll be the nominee we’ll support."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Eric Hovde will enter race against Tammy Baldwin, GOP official says