Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Eric Hovde clashed Friday night over abortion rights and economic issues during their first and only debate in a hotly contested Wisconsin Senate race that had become even more tense just weeks before Election Day.
The tone of the hour-long battle was largely civil, but both candidates fired off sometimes sharp remarks and counterarguments, with Hovde repeatedly accusing Baldwin of lying and Baldwin frequently accusing Hovde of misrepresenting his positions on a range of issues.
The most tense moments of the evening came when the two candidates clashed over reproductive rights.
After one of Hovde’s many attacks on Baldwin’s partner, the incumbent fired back, saying, “Eric Hovde needs to stay out of my private life — and I think I speak for most women in Wisconsin that he needs to stay out of all of our private lives.”
Earlier, when asked whether Roe v. Wade should become the “law of the land,” Baldwin responded that “a woman’s rights and freedoms should not be dependent on her zip code or her state.”
As they have nationwide, Democrats have pushed the issue to the forefront of politics in Wisconsin, where an 1849 abortion ban technically went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. While abortion providers in the state resumed providing care last year after a judge ruled that the 175-year-old law did not apply to consensual medical abortions, the state Supreme Court is reviewing a separate case to invalidate the law entirely.
“Look, it’s been brought back to our state,” Hovde said during the exchange. “I believe in the beauty of life … and I support exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother.”
Hovde, a GOP businessman who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in Wisconsin in 2012, had previously said he was “100 percent pro-life” but changed his stance during his current campaign to support those exceptions.
He then falsely accused Baldwin of supporting abortion rights “up until delivery, where a healthy baby can be born alive and can be terminated.”
“There comes a point where a baby can be born healthy and alive, and I think it’s unconscionable to end that child’s life,” he said.
Baldwin responded forcefully, saying, “Eric Hovde, that doesn’t happen in America. It’s obvious he’s never read Roe v. Wade.” Friday’s debate, which took place four days before early voting begins in Wisconsin and 18 days before Election Day, comes as the race between Baldwin, who is seeking her third term in the Senate, and Hovde, a multimillionaire businessman and bank owner, has tightened in recent weeks.
The seat is a top priority for both parties, given Wisconsin’s status as one of the most divided battlegrounds in the country.
Baldwin won her Senate race in 2012 by more than 5 percentage points and her reelection bid in 2018 by nearly 11 percentage points, demonstrating her appeal in rural areas.
While Baldwin has proven to be a strong fundraiser and has led in public polls in recent months, surveys in recent weeks have shown a close race. Just last week, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter changed their assessment of the race to a “toss-up” from “leaning Democratic.”
GOP outside groups have also poured more money into the state on behalf of Hovde, who has also contributed millions of his own dollars to his campaign.
During Friday’s debate, Baldwin and Hovde also clashed over immigration, foreign policy — including the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine — and a long list of economic issues, including child care costs, elder care and drug prices, and Social Security.
On the issue of how to extend the solvency of the welfare program, Baldwin criticized Hovde for wanting to cut federal spending to fund it.
“He supports spending, but not for you,” she said.
It was one of many attacks that prompted Hovde to fire off exasperated but sharp responses.
“One thing you’ve honed in Washington is your ability to lie,” Hovde said.
The two rivals also traded criticism over who had the strongest reputation in Wisconsin.
Baldwin and other Democratic groups have made the fact that he has lived largely in California the center of some of their most prominent attacks on Hovde, while Hovde has repeatedly attacked Baldwin as an out-of-touch career politician who has lived in Washington, D.C., for far too long.
“I’m supposedly the jerk from California. Yet I was born and raised in this state and have lived where you grew up for the last 12 years,” Hovde said during one exchange. “I’m a UW grad, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am,” Baldwin shot back.
“Law school, not a bachelor’s degree,” Hovde responded.
Baldwin earned her bachelor’s degree from Smith College in Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Hovde earned his from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.