MILWAUKEE — Eric Hovde, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Wisconsin, joined John Mercure and Julia Fello on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News to discuss a wide range of topics including his personal campaign investments, Donald Trump’s endorsement, controversial comments on people in nursing homes and his mustache.
When asked by Mercure if there is too much money in politics, Hovde made his stance clear:
“100%. It’s disgusting, and the more you’re in this race, you sit there and see how money just perverts things,” he told WTMJ. “Our politics has way too much money in it and it’s distorting things, and I think fundamentally, that is one of the problems in Washington D.C. Everybody is bought off at some level.”
He confirmed to WTMJ that he has spent $6 million of his own money on his campaign thus far and is raising funds from individual donors, but will not accept any corporate special interest money in his campaign.
Eric Hovde also expressed his serious interest in debating his competition, Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin. Hovde told WTMJ that Sen. Baldwin has turned down offers to hold such a debate.
“I would love to debate Tammy Baldwin. People are trying to organize a debate and she won’t respond. I’ll debate Tammy anywhere, any time, any place,” Hovde told Wisconsin’s Afternoon News. “What would be good for politics is for Tammy and I to debate in communities across our state.”
When the discussion turned to his controversial comments on people in nursing homes, in which Hovde insinuated that elderly people in nursing homes shouldn’t vote and are too close to death for politics, Hovde mostly defended his statements.
He expressed his belief that elderly people in nursing homes and assisted care facilities are being taken advantage of. Hovde also expressed his belief that between assisted living and hospice, his statement was not inaccurate.
Hovde did not provide any specific statistics or sources for his statements. Hovde also expressed that he feels his political opposition is twisting his words.
When asked about being endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Hovde told WTMJ his opinion that former president Donald Trump had better policies than President Biden, and suggested that he accepts the endorsement.
Last, but certainly not least, Hovde told WTMJ that his wife does indeed like his new campaign mustache. He told Mercure and Fello that it began as a joke while shaving his annual winter beard, but it stuck. He said he only meant to keep it for a day or two, but now, his wife likes it.
Listen to the full interview in your browser or by visiting the Wisconsin’s Afternoon News podcast on WTMJ.com, the WTMJ App or your podcast platform of choice.
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