MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican businessman Eric Hovde, riding the strength of former President Donald Trump's endorsement, easily won Wisconsin's Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, setting the field in a closely watched contest.
Hovde faced only nominal opposition and has been running as the presumptive nominee for months. He’s already spent at least $13 million of his own money on the race to knock off Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is running unopposed in her party’s primary as she seeks a third term.
The race is a key target for both sides as Democrats try to hold onto their majority in the Senate.
Baldwin has attacked Hovde as an out-of-touch California bank owner, while Hovde argues Baldwin is too liberal for Wisconsin. Hovde previously ran for the Senate in 2012 but lost in the primary.
The power of Trump's endorsement will be tested in a Republican congressional primary in northern Wisconsin on Tuesday, and Democrats are deciding on a candidate in a swing House district to take on a GOP incumbent.
Wisconsin voters are also deciding whether to approve two constitutional amendments passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature that would take power away from the governor.
The amendments, if approved by voters, would require legislative approval before the governor could spend any federal money that comes to the state for disaster relief or any other crisis, unless it’s already earmarked.
Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, and a host of liberal groups and others organized against the amendments, saying if they’re adopted, it will slow down the distribution of money when it needs to be spent quickly.
But Republican backers say the measures will add more oversight and serve as a check on the governor’s powers.
In northeastern Wisconsin's open 8th Congressional District, three Republicans are vying for a chance to succeed Rep. Mike Gallagher, a sometimes Trump critic, who quit in April.
Former gas station chain owner Tony Wied, running his first race, touts his endorsement by Trump. The former president cut a TV ad for Wied. The race will be a test of how far Trump’s backing can go, as Wied faces two challengers who have won legislative races that include portions of the congressional district: Roger Roth, the former president of the state Senate who is backed by former Gov. Scott Walker, and Andre Jacque, a current state senator who argues he is the “proven conservative fighter.”
Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician who sued to overturn Wisconsin’s abortion ban, is the only Democrat running.
Western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, which had been represented by a Democrat for 26 years before it flipped in 2022, is the most competitive district in the state, resulting in a crowded Democratic primary for the chance to take on incumbent Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
Van Orden is a former Navy SEAL who was at the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and remains one of Trump’s loudest backers in Wisconsin. He is a top target for Democrats.
Longtime state Rep. Katrina Shankland faces small-business owner and former political activist Rebecca Cooke and political newcomer Eric Wilson in the Democratic primary.
The election is also the first under new legislative maps more favorable to Democrats.
Legislative incumbents face each other in six primaries, including four Assembly races where the new maps pitted them against each other.
The winners in Tuesday primaries will face off in November, when all 99 seats in the Assembly and half in the Senate are on the ballot.
