Summary

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No Republican has won this Class 1 senate seat since Joseph McCarthy in 1952. Incumbent Tammy Baldwin was first elected in 2012, defeating former governor Tommy Thompson by 6 percentage points. She was re-elected in 2018 by 11 percentage points.

The race is considered to be slightly favorable to Baldwin, despite Wisconsin’s nearly even partisan lean, with most polls showing Baldwin to be the favorite to win.

Wisconsin is considered to be a purple state at the federal level, especially since there are both a Republican and Democratic senator representing the state. Wisconsin was also a top battleground state in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. The state backed the Republican candidate in 2016, and then the Democratic candidate in 2020, both by less than 1% and only a plurality.

Both parties have seen success in the state in recent years. Republicans control both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature and hold a supermajority in Wisconsin’s U.S. House delegation. Republicans also control the state’s other senate seat. However, Democrats have seen success in statewide races, including in 2022, where incumbent governor Tony Evers overperformed expectations and won reelection to a second term, despite polls showing his Republican challenger as the slight favorite.

Source: Wikipedia

Money

Source: Open Secrets

Predictions

Polling

Web Links

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Tammy Baldwin

Eric Hovde

Issues

Tammy Baldwin

Source: Campaign Site

Bolstering Made In Wisconsin Manufacturing

In Wisconsin, we make things — everything from paper, engines, tools, and ships to beer, brats, and cheese. It is a long and proud tradition. That’s why Tammy has made building a Made in Wisconsin manufacturing economy a top priority.

Tammy is continuing to build a Made in Wisconsin economy by working across party lines to champion strong Buy American rules, confront unfair trade deals, and create good paying Wisconsin jobs.

Buy American

American workers are the best in the world, yet they face an unfair disadvantage when it comes to competing against countries like China and Russia. In Washington, big multinational corporations bring in their lobbyists to keep the system rigged in their favor, while American workers are left behind.

Tammy is standing up for Wisconsin workers and taking on those powerful special interests by fighting for strong Buy American rules, which were included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the National Defense Authorization Act. The passing of these bills ensure our manufacturers have a level playing field because American taxpayer dollars should be going toward buying American products and hiring American workers — not propping up foreign-made iron and steel.

Tammy was proud to support the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, an historic new law that will create hundreds of thousands of good-paying manufacturing, transportation, and construction jobs while rebuilding America. In the Senate, Tammy secured the inclusion of key provisions of her Made in America Act in that law to support American manufacturing. Because of Tammy’s work, more federal infrastructure projects will be required to use American-made materials. Tammy’s legislation also expands Buy America to common construction materials such as copper, plastic, concrete, glass, lumber and drywall.

Creating Wisconsin Jobs

Tammy is working to create a Made in Wisconsin manufacturing economy that is built to last by investing in workers and the next generation of Wisconsin’s manufacturers.

Tammy introduced landmark job training legislation that would scale up Wisconsin’s apprenticeship programs and provide more people with the skills they need to succeed. Tammy’s apprenticeship bill would invest in public-private partnerships between schools and local businesses that are training future Wisconsin workers.

Wisconsin’s manufacturing economy will continue to thrive and innovate and we must make sure Wisconsin’s next generation of workers are ready to take the Badger State to the next level. Tammy worked across party lines to pass her bipartisan Manufacturing Universities Act, and now this law is helping engineering programs across the country meet the demands of modern manufacturing.

Standing Up for Our Veterans

Wisconsin is the proud home of servicemembers, veterans, and military families who have made incredible sacrifices for our country. Tammy has worked across party lines to do right by our veterans and make sure they have the care, good paying jobs, and community support that they have earned and deserve.

Expanding health care and benefits to more than 3.5 million servicemembers
Tammy helped pass legislation to expand VA health care and benefits to the more than 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits during their service in the 1990s and post-9/11 wars. The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics of 2022 (PACT Act) is the most significant expansion of veteran benefits and care in more than three decades.

Improving Veterans’ Care In The VA And Their Communities
Tammy has met with veterans across Wisconsin to hear their ideas for improving their health care. For veterans facing incredible frustrations and delays while looking for care in their own communities through the VA Choice Program, Tammy developed a three-point plan to cut bureaucratic red tape, increase oversight of contractors like HealthNet, and streamline scheduling.

In VA facilities, whistleblowers hold the system accountable to our veterans. Joining a small coalition of Republicans and Democrats, Tammy pushed to pass the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. Signed into law by President Trump, these VA reforms will protect future whistleblowers and allow the VA Secretary to fire bad employees who put our veterans in harm’s way.

Veterans across America are stuck in limbo after the broken VA appeals process led to a massive backlog of thousands of unresolved cases. Working with a broad group of Republicans and Democrats, Tammy passed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act. It was signed into law by President Trump to cut the VA’s unacceptable backlog and allow our veterans to get back to living their lives.

Creating Good Paying Jobs and Strengthening Support for Veterans
Tammy has worked across party lines to make sure that when our veterans return home, they have the good paying jobs and community support that they need. Joined by Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Tammy introduced the BRAVE Act — bipartisan legislation that incentivizes businesses to hire veterans.

When many veterans return home, they are targeted by shady credit card companies and financial scams that seek to cheat them. Tammy did right by our veterans and their families by pushing to create the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, which has put millions of dollars back into the pockets of scammed servicemembers. Tammy then introduced the Military Consumer Enforcement Act to protect our active duty servicemembers from unfair eviction, exploitative debt collection practices, and other fraudulent schemes.

Jason’s Law: A Family’s Tragedy Turned Into Hope For Others
Like too many of our veterans, U.S. Marine veteran Jason Simcakoski went to the VA to get help, but instead got hooked on prescription drugs. Tragically, Jason Simcakoski died in 2014 from mixed drug toxicity while receiving care at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The Simcakoski family decided to turn their tragedy into hope for other military families. Working closely with Tammy, they crafted bipartisan legislation named in honor of Jason to reform the VA and help stop the overprescribing of opioids at the VA.

Tammy and the Simcakoski family worked together to get the job done, building support for the legislation from Republicans and Democrats, veterans service organizations, and medical professionals across the country. Following Tammy and the Simcakoski family’s hard work to see the bipartisan bill passed in the Senate and House, it was then signed into law as Jason’s Law.

Jason’s Law has strengthened opioid prescribing guidelines and implemented new oversight and accountability rules at the VA. It’s also helping provide safer and more effective pain management services for veterans across the country.

Tammy has also introduced additional bipartisan VA prescribing reforms. Their bipartisan Veterans Overmedication Prevention Act confronts the overmedication of veterans and would help prevent suicide deaths.

Lowering Prescription Drug Prices

Across Wisconsin, families are facing skyrocketing prescription drug prices — but in Washington, it’s the drug corporations whose voices are the loudest. That’s why Tammy took on Big Pharma to do right by Wisconsinites, who should never be forced to choose between groceries and medicine.

Recently, Tammy handed Big Pharma their first ever loss in Washington when she helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill will lower drug prices and out-of-pocket costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs and capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month for seniors on Medicare. Now, drug companies such as Eli Lilly are lowering the cost of insulin to $35 a month for everyone, showing the incredible impact of Tammy’s legislation.

Holding Drug Corporations Accountable and Reining in Big Pharma
Tammy is putting Wisconsinites first by slowing the revolving door between pharmaceutical companies and Washington. Tammy’s legislation would force pharmaceutical regulators to recuse themselves if there are conflicts of interest, and it would tighten lobbying rules around future pharmaceutical regulations.

In 2022, Tammy helped pass a new law to crack down on drug corporations that unfairly jack up the price of seniors’ prescriptions. And Tammy’s FAIR Drug Pricing Act would take on pharmaceutical CEOs by making them explain exactly why they are hiking up their prices, whether it’s to buy more TV ads, gift their shareholders more stock buybacks, raise their executives’ pay, or if it’s just simply because they can.

Strengthening Our Health Care

Health Care is Personal for Tammy
When Tammy was nine, she came down with a serious illness similar to spinal meningitis. She spent three months in the hospital. But even after she got better, she was labeled as a child with a “pre-existing condition.”

Her grandparents were already struggling to pay out-of-pocket for Tammy’s hospitalization, but it suddenly became nearly impossible for them to find her any insurance, at any price.

Tammy took these lessons to heart and championed important reforms in the Affordable Care Act. Her push to allow kids to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26 years old has helped cover millions of young Americans. Her efforts to protect people with illnesses has made sure no one is denied care because of a pre-existing condition.

When some in Washington pushed partisan repeal efforts that would have removed these protections and ripped health care away from millions of Americans, Tammy stood up and led the fight to protect our health care.

Right now, Tammy is fighting back against rules that let insurance companies sell Wisconsinites junk plans that could deny coverage or charge more if you had a pre-existing condition. Tammy is leading the effort to stop this sabotage with new legislation that would end the concept of pre-existing conditions once and for all.

Health Care for Every Wisconsinite
Through her early life experiences, Tammy learned firsthand that no one should be denied medical care. And when it comes to providing affordable health care for every American, there is more we must do — right now — to change the status quo, improve our healthcare system and lower costs.

Tammy supports building on the Affordable Care Act and making sure everyone has access to affordable health care. To achieve the goal of universal health care coverage, Tammy helped introduce legislation that would simplify a complicated system for families and reduce administrative costs for businesses. It would expand coverage to the uninsured, make health care more affordable for working families, and reduce growing prescription drug costs.

Tammy has also joined other efforts to expand coverage and lower health care costs for Wisconsinites. The Medicare at 50 Act would allow Americans between 50 and 64 to buy into Medicare. Tammy worked together with her colleagues on legislation to allow states to offer people the choice of buying into Medicaid, granting more Wisconsinites the opportunity to enroll in our popular BadgerCare program. Tammy is also working on a reform that would provide all Americans, individuals and companies with a public option to purchase Medicare.

While Washington is consumed by partisan squabbling and harmful efforts to take people’s health care away, Tammy has pushed to find common ground on solutions that work for the American people. It’s time to make good on the guarantee of high-quality, affordable health care coverage for every American. That is a goal worth reaching, and as Americans, we shouldn’t let anyone tell us we can’t achieve it.

Fighting for the Freedom to Choose

The overturn of Roe v. Wade effectively reverted Wisconsin to an 1849 law outlawing all abortions except when necessary to save a woman’s life. Women all across our state, including victims of rape and incest, lost a fundamental right to decide when, if, and how they have children. Now, the issue of abortion is in legal limbo in our state, and far too many women do not have access to the care they need.

Tammy is a staunch advocate for womens’ freedoms and will continue to fight until every Wisconsinite can make their own health care decisions without the government getting involved. She has introduced and supported legislation that would protect women’s right to an abortion nationwide, protect women’s right to travel across state lines to get reproductive health care, and safeguard access to contraception.

Tammy wrote the Women’s Health Protection Act to guarantee equal access to abortion everywhere in the United States. Tammy introduced this bill after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, stripping women of the freedom to make their own decisions about their health care.

Safeguarding Our Democracy and the Right to Vote

Voting rights are the foundation of America’s democracy and the nation works best when all voices can be heard. Over the past few years, Americans across the country have witnessed attempts to suppress the vote, gerrymander district lines, and prevent communities from having a say in their democracy.

In a floor speech supporting the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Tammy said, “John Lewis showed us the best of the human spirit, as he worked with hope in his heart to change America and bring liberty and justice for all. It’s now up to all of us to carry on John’s spirit and continue his important work, including protecting the right to vote.”

Tammy is continuing this fight by pushing to stop voter suppression efforts and remove barriers to the constitutionally protected right to vote.

Protecting our National Security

In these tumultuous times, Tammy is working across party lines to protect our troops, support our first responders, and keep Wisconsin safe from threats both at home and abroad.

Securing the Border
Tammy knows America’s immigration system is broken and we need to work together in Congress to fix it. Tammy is pushing to address the root causes of migration from Central America and responsibly manage and secure the border with smart investments. Tammy has visited the southern border herself to talk to our Customs & Border Patrol agents about what they need to keep our communities safe from illegal drugs like fentanyl that cross the border.

Supporting Our Troops Overseas
Tammy was a leading voice against starting the Iraq War, which led to thousands of American servicemembers losing their lives and will end up costing American taxpayers more than $2 trillion, on top of causing the drastic regional destabilization that fueled the growth of terrorist groups like ISIS.

With our troops and our military families making incredible sacrifices, Tammy has joined bipartisan efforts to make sure Congress gives our servicemembers the fair pay and benefits they deserve. In addition to much-needed pay raises for our troops, Tammy has made sure our government invests in innovative security and safety equipment for our military, protects servicemembers and their families from financial scams, and constructs new facilities at Wisconsin’s Fort McCoy Army base. When veterans returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe illnesses caused by exposure to toxic burn pits, Tammy helped pass the PACT Act, extending VA health care services and benefits to servicemembers impacted by those exposures.

Protecting Our Military with Made In Wisconsin Equipment
As our military defends America, Tammy has helped make sure they are protected with high-quality equipment that is American-made, including right here in Wisconsin. Tammy has pushed Senate and House Leaders to join her in saving crucial Buy American rules that require the federal government to use our taxpayer dollars on American-made products for our troops.

Keeping our Neighborhoods Safe

Tammy is working to make sure that every Wisconsinite feels safe in their community. That means investing in public safety and law enforcement and stepping up efforts to keep dangerous drugs like fentanyl out of our neighborhoods and schools.

Tammy supports funding the police. As senator, she has been proud to bring home tens of millions of dollars for police departments across Wisconsin, such as the funding she recently secured for a new Prairie du Chien Public Safety Center that will house the Prairie du Chien Police Department, Prairie du Chien Fire Department, and local EMS.

Tammy voted to pass the American Rescue Plan which helped Wisconsin invest nearly $100 million in public safety and crime control, including $19 million directly for law enforcement so they have the tools and resources they need to combat the opioid epidemic, protect our neighborhoods and keep Wisconsinites safe. She has also helped secure funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program, increased funding for the federal Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) program, and authored the Public Safety Employer Employee Cooperation Act, which would give police officers a stronger voice to improve working conditions and get the resources they need to most effectively serve the public.

To counter the flow of illegal drugs into Wisconsin, Tammy helped pass bipartisan legislation to increase funding for local prevention programs, prevent the flow of fentanyl into America and enhance enforcement programs, including the Drug Free Communities program, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, the Drug Courts program, and the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine and Anti-Heroin programs.

At the same time, Tammy is committed to reforming our police departments by improving police training and practices and ensuring transparency and accountability. Tammy supports the Justice in Policing Act and will continue to work to pass it into law.

Taking on the Special Interests

Tammy is putting Wisconsin first and standing up to big corporations and powerful special interests who want Washington to keep working for them — not Wisconsin. That’s why it’s no surprise that corporate special interests, billionaire megadonors, and shady Super PACs have always made beating Tammy their top priority and have flooded Wisconsin with millions in outside spending against her.

No matter how much secret money these special interests spend, Tammy will continue doing right by Wisconsinites and work to reduce the influence of special interest money in our government and our elections.

Overturning Citizens United
The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision allowed for special interests to give unlimited amounts of secret money to influence our government and elections. The result is that Washington is full of politicians who are bought and paid for by special interests.

Tammy is taking on these special interests and their politicians by pushing for reforms that fight against dark money and unlimited corporate donations to political campaigns. The DISCLOSE Act would require super PACs and dark money groups to reveal who their big donors are and also crack down on foreign interference in our elections. Tammy also joined the For The People Act, a comprehensive bill to end partisan gerrymandering, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and protect Wisconsinites’ right to vote.

Slowing the Revolving Door
There is an unacceptable revolving door between Washington and the big corporations, and it’s spinning out of control as billionaires and special interests rig the system to help themselves while working families get left behind. Tammy is working to slow this revolving door and hold Washington accountable to Wisconsin.

Tammy’s Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act would outlaw insiders and corporate executives from receiving golden parachutes bonuses for taking a government job. These multi-million dollar bonuses put insiders in the pocket of powerful special interests as they make a rigged system in Washington worse.

Banning Congressional Stock Trading
Rather than serving their constituents, some members of Congress are more interested in enriching themselves.

Tammy supports the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, which requires all members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children to place their stock portfolios into a blind trust. This measure will curb corruption in Washington because members of Congress can’t use inside information to influence their stock trades and make a profit. This keeps members of Congress accountable and focused on delivering results for the people they serve and not their own bank accounts.

Tammy will always work for the people of Wisconsin, not corrupt financial gain, which is why she has had a blind trust since she stepped into office in 2013.

Eric Hovde

Source: Campaign Site

Cost of Living

Debt and Inflation
Tackling Record Inflation and Preventing a Debt Crisis
High levels of government debt pose significant dangers to a country’s economic stability and long-term prospects. Since the end of the 2020 fiscal year, President Biden and Senator Baldwin have added over $7.3 trillion of debt, more than the first 228 years of our nation’s history combined.

Our total public debt is a staggering $34 trillion, and counting…

Such debt hinders economic growth, creates financial vulnerabilities, and limits our ability to respond to future crises. There are two paths out of this predicament, but both cause significant harm to a country’s citizens: defaulting or inflating away the debt.

Defaulting on debt involves a government’s inability or refusal to meet its debt obligations. This has catastrophic consequences particularly in the case of the United States. If the U.S. were to default it would collapse most financial institutions in the U.S. and globally. It would put the U.S. economy and the globe into a depression that would take over a decade to resolve. Unemployment would skyrocket and social instability would rise dramatically. It would also destroy investor confidence, trigger capital flight, and the U.S. would immediately lose its reserve currency status. To say the least, this is not an option that the U.S. can pursue like many third world countries have done in the past.

The inflationary approach involves rapidly increasing the money supply to devalue the debt. While this might seem like a convenient solution, it has extremely detrimental effects on the broader population. It devalues people’s savings and is particularly harmful to the elderly who rely on savings because they are no longer employed. Inflation also erodes the purchasing power of individuals and businesses, leading to higher costs of living. This harms everyone in a society but is particularly hard on middle- and working-class families and again, the elderly. Further it starts to have a corrosive impact on economic growth as people have to shift all their income to basic necessities collapsing other industries that do not provide essential goods and services. This ultimately leads to economic stagflation where an economy is no longer growing, but prices continue to increase. This is a painful remedy that lowers the standard of living for all but a very few.

The U.S. has already started down the path of trying to inflate away the debt. The Biden administration has spent trillions even after we were coming out of the COVID lockdowns in 2021 and 2022.

The Federal Reserve, due to the lockdowns of our economy in 2020 and 2021, increased the money supply by 40% during this period. As a result, inflation spiked to the highest levels in 40 years.
People feel it at the gas pump, grocery stores, car prices, home prices, and in everyday services. In response to the rising inflation, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates rapidly which compounds the debt problem the U.S. is facing because as rates adjust higher, the government will be forced to pay higher interest costs on its debt. It is now projected that total interest costs will be close to $1 trillion for this year. The interest cost on our debt will now start squeezing out more productive uses of capital from the U.S. government budget and overall economy making it harder to achieve normal historical growth rates over the mid to long term.

Immigration

The Biden Administration and Senator Baldwin have fueled the worst border crisis in our nation’s history. Their refusal to secure our southern border and enforce our immigration laws has put the security of our nation at great risk, allowed the unabated flow of drugs from Mexico and China, and created a humanitarian crisis for migrants.

With the mass influx of migrants across our border, many of our institutions – hospitals, hotels, schools, and community centers – are experiencing increased stress. In fact, some hospitals are turning away patients and are on the verge of collapse due to the increased strain. From a security standpoint, the number of undocumented individuals traveling from all over the world whose backgrounds and intentions are unknown raises concerns for our country, our citizens, and our way of life.

President Biden’s and Senator Baldwin’s border policy has also empowered the cartels, subsequently increasing the flow of drugs, including highly fatal drugs like fentanyl. Drug use and overdose deaths have increased dramatically as a result.

By the time many migrants reach the U.S. – Mexico border, many of them have been separated from their families and exploited by smugglers and human traffickers. This has created an enormous humanitarian crisis.

We have always been a nation of immigrants, but the American Dream should be pursued legally through the appropriate channels. The Biden-Baldwin open border policy is fueling a crisis on our southern border and many people have lost their lives because of it. Our laws need to be enforced and our borders strengthened if we want to keep our streets safe and protect the lives of U.S. citizens and migrants.

Foreign Policy

The Biden Administration and Senator Baldwin have fueled the worst border crisis in our nation’s history. Their refusal to secure our southern border and enforce our immigration laws has put the security of our nation at great risk, allowed the unabated flow of drugs from Mexico and China, and created a humanitarian crisis for migrants.

The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan was a shameful betrayal and an embarrassment. We abandoned our military base, withdrew our troops, and left behind $7 billion of weapons, military vehicles, and communications equipment that went straight into the hands of the Taliban. More importantly, we lost 13 American service members, deserted hundreds of US citizens, and thousands of allies who had risked their lives for our country and our troops.

Our retreat emboldened foreign adversaries to become more aggressive – and our allies have paid the price. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stretched on for two years and cost hundreds of billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian lives. The war’s devastation of life and infrastructure will set the country back decades. The Iranian-backed Hamas attack on Israel in October resulted in more than 1,000 Israeli deaths. Despite Iran’s long history of financing terrorism, my opponent Senator Baldwin was one of the staunchest supporters of the Iran deal which sent billions of dollars and plane loads of cash to Iran. In East Asia, China continues to build an arsenal of warships and is upping their aggression towards Taiwan. Our involvement across the globe in multiple conflicts stretches thin our ability to protect our allies and emboldens our enemies.

By appeasing dictators and funding evil regimes, Senator Baldwin and President Biden have put American troops at risk and endangered nations all over the world. We must lead through deterrence, prioritizing our national security and the security of our allies by sending a clear message of strength to the world, to put an end to these wars and stop future ones from occurring.

Healthcare

Our healthcare system is deeply flawed and in need of reform. Over the last decade, quality of care has decreased, and insurance premiums have doubled, in some cases tripled. This is largely a result of the failures of Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Initially promised to be a groundbreaking reform aimed at providing affordable care for all, the ACA has failed to live up to its expectation. Instead of a decrease in healthcare costs, Americans have experienced a sharp increase in insurance premiums, placing a burden on middle- and working-class families, many of whom are already struggling with rising costs.

Perverse incentives have made the insurance industry less competitive, less transparent, of lower quality, and more expensive. Before the ACA, health insurers were incentivized to manage costs because the difference between health insurance premiums and the claims paid to healthcare providers was their profit. After the ACA, insurance companies’ profits were capped and calculated as a percentage of healthcare spending; therefore, the only way to increase profits was to increase overall healthcare spending.

Many people, including those with preexisting conditions like myself, saw their drug prices skyrocket. Sadly, many are still forced to decide every month between the drugs they need to survive and basic necessities.

Democrats’ failed promises have cost Americans immensely. The promise of expanded healthcare options has resulted in fewer choices and limited coverage. Americans spend the most of any developed country on healthcare, despite the quality of care decreasing over time.

DC politicians have spent years talking about this issue, and yet they have done nothing about it. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the 1990s, I understand how the failures of our healthcare system affect my fellow Wisconsinites every day. I have lived it. It’s time to reform our healthcare so that it works for all Americans.