MADISON, Wis. — Democratic US Senator. Tammy Baldwin and Republican challenger Erik Hovde repeatedly accused each other of lying during the course of their close scrutiny Senate race during an often stimulating and confrontational debate on Friday.
Here are eight takeaways from the debate, held in Madison and hosted by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association:
In their back and forth, each candidate accused the other of playing fast and loose with the truth, both on the campaign trail and during the debate itself.
“The one thing you’ve perfected in Washington is your ability to lie,” Hovde said during a conversation about Social Security.
His comments came after Baldwin pointed out that Hovde favors returning the federal budget to 2019 levels, which she said will result in massive cuts to popular programs like Social Security.
“He supports the spending, just not for you,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin noted that more than a dozen independent fact-checkers found that Hovde had made false statements during the campaign.
Hovde responded by claiming that “every single one of her ads was false.” He has provided no evidence to support that.
Hovde repeatedly called on Baldwin to release more information about the investments and business dealings of her partner, Maria Brisbane, ranked by Forbes as one of the country’s top female wealth advisors. There is no requirement for Baldwin to release that information.
“They don’t disclose those investments and how much they benefit from them,” said Hovde, calling it a conflict of interest for Baldwin. “That is fundamentally wrong.”
“Eric Hovde needs to stay out of my personal life,” Baldwin shot back. “And I think I speak for most Wisconsin women that he should stay out of all of our personal lives.”
If elected, Hovde would be one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, based on his campaign finance report, which showed he has assets worth between $195 million and more than $564 million. Baldwin listed assets between $601,000 and nearly $1.3 million.
Baldwin expressed her support for passing a federal law that would make abortion legal nationwide, as was the case before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“Women are dying because of the current situation,” she said. “Distressing things are happening to women in this state.”
Hovde previously said he supported overturning Roe v. Wade but now says he would not vote for a federal ban on abortion. Instead, he says, states should decide. That’s a change of position from 2012, when Hovde last ran for Senate as someone who was “totally opposed” to abortion.
“I am not in favor of a national abortion ban,” Hovde said during the debate. “I never have been.”
Former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Hovde, has suggested as much he would support a federal ban.
Baldwin and her supporters have tried to portray Hovde as more California than Wisconsin because he owns a $7 million estate in the Pacific coastal town of Laguna Beach and owns Sunwest Bank, which operates on the West Coast.
Hovde was born and raised in Wisconsin.
“I’m supposedly a California jerk,” he said before pulling out a document from his pocket that he said was a utility bill for his Madison. He challenged Baldwin to produce ten years of utility bills to prove where she lives.
Baldwin expressed strong support for the national health care law, while Hovde called for changes.
“We need to build on the Affordable Care Act,” Baldwin said.
Hovde said the law has not slowed the rise in health care costs, improved access or allowed people to keep their doctors.
“I believe in results, and if you look at the results, all these promises have failed,” he said.
Hovde questioned the use of the mailboxes, which the Wisconsin Supreme Court banned in 2022 but allowed again this year after the court was overseen by liberal justices.
“We need to create confidence in our voting system,” Hovde said. “It causes too much tension in our country. And I can tell you that it won’t help if our Supreme Court brings back drop boxes when they were only used for a pandemic. Then why are they being brought back?”
Drop boxes have been used in Wisconsin for years, but they became more common in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 500 boxes were used in 2020, but this year the Wisconsin Elections Commission said it was aware of only 78 boxes in use. There may be more because communities are not required to report them.
There was only one passing reference to Trump and not a single mention of Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris during the hour-long debate. Hovde supports Trump and has appeared at his rallies. Baldwin supports Harris and has spoken at her events around the state.
Democrats must hold the seat in Wisconsin if they hope to maintain their slim majority in the Senate. The Democrats are defending 23 seats, while the Republicans only have 11 in this election.
Republicans see an opportunity in the swing state of Wisconsin, and both parties have poured money into the campaign, making it one of the five most expensive Senate races this year.