As the GOP primary for one of Wisconsin’s Senate seats quickly approaches, it may be less clear which candidate will challenge Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in the general election.
Previous polls showed former Governor Tommy Thompson leading the pack of candidates, but a poll conducted this month by Public Policy Polling shows former businessman Eric Hovde has taken the lead.
Hovde leads the candidates with 31 percent, while Thompson is trailing close behind at 29 percent. The other two candidates in the primary are former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann and Assembly Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, with 15 percent and nine percent, respectively. The primary election will be held Aug. 14.
Of the four candidates in the race, Hovde is also the only candidate in the poll to have a lead against Baldwin. In a potential matchup Hovde lead 45 to 44 percent against Baldwin. Thompson tied Baldwin in the poll while both Nuemann and Fitzgerald are four points behind her.
Sean Lansing, a spokesperson for Eric Hovde, said he believes polls are consistent with what Hovde’s campaign workers have been seeing all along. Lansing said the campaign has had great support from day one due to a great ground game and a great organization across Wisconsin.
“Eric’s message is resonating with people across Wisconsin – he’s a fresh face with new ideas; he’s a guy that is going to make the tough decisions that are necessary,” Lansing said in an email to The Badger Herald. “Governor Thompson is a career politician and corporate lobbyist. There is a stark contrast between the two.”
According to the poll, Hovde’s lead comes from an 18-point lead among primary voters who identify with the Tea Party and a 14-point lead with those who identify as Independents.
According to University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden, just a month ago Thompson appeared to have an easy victory in the primary. Burden believes he might still get the Republican nomination, but he predicts that Eric Hovde could pose a serious threat.
“Hovde has been spending more on advertising than any other candidate and has been aggressively seeking news coverage,” Burden said in email to The Badger Herald. “Recent polls suggest that he is gaining steam quickly among likely Republican primary voters. It remains to be seen whether he can continue to build on that as the primary approaches and Thompson begins to fire back.”
Nathan Conrad, communications director for Republican Party of Wisconsin, said he is proud to have four great candidates with expertise in both the public and private sectors. He said all four of the candidates have shown they are capable of balancing budgets, helping to create jobs and are able to make the right decisions to get the nation headed in the right direction.
“Any one of these candidates are a better fit for Wisconsin in United States Senate than the tax-and-spend methods championed by Tammy Baldwin and her rubber stamp of the failed policies of the Obama administration,” Conrad said.
