Too early to call Wisconsin Senate race between Trump-backed millionaire and Democratic incumbent

By SCOTT BAUER The Associated Press

People line up in the rain waiting for polls to open to vote on Election Day, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Scott Bauer]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — It was too early to declare a winner Wednesday in Wisconsin’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race that pit two-term Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin against Republican Eric Hovde, a millionaire businessman who is backed by former President Donald Trump and poured millions of his own money into the contest.

Baldwin ended her planned victory party in downtown Madison without taking the stage. Republicans remained gathered nearby at Hovde’s party anticipating a race call.

Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate late Tuesday after flipping Democratic held seats in Ohio and West Virginia.

Democrats were hoping for a Baldwin win to prevent the state’s two Senate seats being held by Republicans.

While Baldwin’s voting record is liberal, she emphasized bipartisanship throughout the campaign. Baldwin became the first statewide Democratic candidate to win an endorsement from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization, in more than 20 years.

Her first television ad noted that her buy-American bill was signed into law by Trump. In July, she touted Senate committee approval of a bill she co-authored with Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, that seeks to ensure that taxpayer-funded inventions are manufactured in the United States.

Hovde tried to portray Baldwin as an out-of-touch liberal career politician who didn’t do enough to combat inflation, illegal immigration and crime.

About 4 in 10 Wisconsin voters said the economy and jobs is the top issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationally, including more than 3,400 voters in Wisconsin. About 2 in 10 Wisconsin voters said immigration is the most pressing issue, and more than 1 in 10 named abortion.

Almost half of voters said they had a very or somewhat favorable view of Baldwin. A similar proportion said they had a very or somewhat favorable view of Hovde. About 4 in 10 Wisconsin voters said party control was the single most important factor in their vote.

Hovde’s wealth, primarily his management of Utah-based Sunwest Bank and ownership of a $7 million Laguna Beach, California, estate, has been a key line of attack from Baldwin, who has tried to cast him as an outsider who doesn’t represent Wisconsin values.

Baldwin also attacked Hovde over his opposition to abortion rights.

Hovde said he supported the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, but said he would not vote for a federal law banning abortion, leaving it to the states to decide. That is a change of his position from his last run for Senate in 2012, when he “totally opposed” abortion.

Baldwin’s television ads hit on a consistent theme that Hovde insulted farmers, older residents, parents and others. Hovde, who was born in Madison and owns a house there, accused Baldwin of distorting his comments, lying about his record and misleading voters.

Baldwin won her first Senate race in 2012, against popular former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, by almost 6 percentage points. Hovde lost to Thompson in that year’s primary.

Hovde attacked Baldwin for being in elected office since 1987, including the past 12 years in the Senate and 14 in the House before that.

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Associated Press writer Cora Lewis contributed to this report.