Hovde’s Wife Targets Female Democratic Senator as Election Approaches

MADISON, Wis. — In a dynamic turn in the U.S. Senate race, Sharon Hovde, the wife of Republican candidate Eric Hovde, has taken a leading role in her husband’s campaign following his recent nomination. A television advertisement released on Thursday features Sharon directly confronting Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin, focusing particularly on the topic of single motherhood.

This contest between Baldwin, who is aiming for a third term, and millionaire businessman Hovde is drawing significant attention as it unfolds in the pivotal battleground state of Wisconsin. A victory for Baldwin is deemed essential for Democrats seeking to maintain their slim majority in the Senate.

This week marked a notable shift in Hovde’s campaign approach, emphasizing a personal narrative. The campaign’s advertising strategy includes a pair of ads showcasing Eric Hovde’s charity initiatives and his ongoing struggle with multiple sclerosis.

The latest advertisement features Sharon Hovde speaking directly to the audience. This ad serves as a rebuttal to a previous Baldwin spot that criticized Hovde for comments he made about single mothers during his earlier Senate campaign in 2012.

In a 2012 interview, Hovde had remarked that being a single mother “is a direct path to a life of poverty,” asserting that it precipitates various societal issues such as higher drug rates, mental and physical health problems, and increased incarceration rates among young men.

He further elaborated during another interview that children born outside of marriage face “higher poverty rates, higher incarceration rates, higher dropout rates, and increased rates of depression,” labeling the situation as devastating.

Baldwin’s campaign previously aired an advertisement featuring the children of single parents who criticized Hovde based on his past statements. A notable line from the ad, voiced by a man, questions, “What is wrong with this guy?” Baldwin herself does not appear in this particular advertisement.

In response, Sharon Hovde’s advertisement does not contest her husband’s earlier comments. Instead, it shifts the focus onto Baldwin’s campaign tactics.

“Sen. Baldwin, your dirty campaign has gone too far,” Sharon Hovde states in the ad. “Your latest attack on my husband is about single mothers? I was a single mom when I met Eric. It was hard. Eric saw the difficulty I faced just trying to afford child care.”

Sharon Hovde became a single mother when she was separated from her first husband, and she had a three-year-old daughter at the time she met Eric Hovde. The couple also shares a daughter together.

In defense of their advertisement targeting Hovde, Baldwin’s campaign maintained that Hovde’s past statements were self-explanatory. “Eric Hovde’s words speak for themselves,” remarked Baldwin spokesperson Andrew Mamo. “He has insulted the children of single mothers, just as he has insulted Wisconsin seniors, farmers, and those facing challenges with their health. Wisconsinites deserve a senator who respects them, not one who demeans them.”

In political campaigns, it is uncommon for candidates’ spouses to take such an active role in addressing critiques beyond typical surrogate appearances. According to Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, when spouses do partake prominently, it usually aims to counterbalance a candidate’s vulnerabilities.

Dittmar highlighted a trend where male candidates often rely on women in their lives to deliver critiques against female opponents. “If they can have those attacks come from another woman, and not a man directly, they can sidestep some of the criticism about having a man attack a woman,” she noted.