U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde is set to visit the University of Wisconsin next Tuesday, Oct. 29. Hovde, a Madison native and UW alumnus with a background in finance and real estate is running for the Wisconsin Senate seat in November.

Hovde’s platform includes reducing national spending, securing the border and reforming the Affordable Care Act.

The event, titled “Energy and Economics with U.S. Senate Candidate Eric Hovde,” will take place at Grainger Hall. During the event, Hovde will engage with young voters, a key demographic in this Wisconsin election.

Recently, Hovde has made comments calling into question the work ethic of young people according to statements made at a Republican Women of Dane County event.

“I hire a lot of young people,” Hovde said. “The amount of them that can’t write properly and understand a good work ethic — I literally have to take a lot of these young people and start training them right when they come out of college.”

Hovde also called into question the legitimacy of voting in nursing homes.

“Well, if you’re in a nursing home, you only have five, six months life expectancy,” Hovde said. “Almost nobody in a nursing home is at a point to vote, and you had … adult children showing up and saying, ‘Who voted for my 85- or 90-year-old father or mother?”

These comments were later clarified by Hovde as he stated he was alluding to elder voter fraud, according to the Associated Press.

“They tried to say I didn’t want elderly people to vote,” Hovde said. “I don’t even know how they came up with that.”

As the 2024 election heads into its final two weeks, Hovde is focusing on connecting with voters across Wisconsin. His opponent Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis, is also a UW alumna which he has run multiple campaign ads and debated against.