Op-Ed: Eric Hovde: Wisconsin needs a citizen legislator, not a career politician
Baldwin has taken $1,931,723 from the securities and investments industry, $918,378 from the pharmaceutical industry, and $286,786 from the big tech industry during her campaigns.
Specifically, in the case of Wall Street, Sen. Baldwin claims she is fighting wealth inequality and wants to make the wealthy pay their fair share, yet she lives on Wall Street with her partner, Maria Brisbane — a private wealth manager to the uber wealthy, who devises tax schemes for them.
Further, Maria Brisbane invests for her clients in the biotech and health care industries which Sen. Baldwin regulates in the U.S. Senate, creating a massive conflict of interest.
Despite disclosing the assets of her previous partners, Sen. Baldwin has refused to disclose Maria Brisbane’s assets and clients, or provide any transparency to Wisconsin voters.
A bombshell segment by CNN revealed Sen. Baldwin previously made the case that “public interest” would require gay and lesbian elected officials to disclose the assets and other financial information of their partners.
Footage reviewed by CNN found that Sen. Baldwin said, “all members of Congress file annual financial disclosures. Married members must file very important information about their spouses’ income, their investments, gifts and debts, et cetera. Surely, the public interest would require that these obligations apply also to partners of gay and lesbian officeholders.”
Now that Sen. Baldwin’s partner is a Wall Street financial advisor to uber wealthy clients and invests in industries regulated by Sen. Baldwin, her response is, “stay out of my personal life.” It’s clear that after 26 years in Washington, Sen. Baldwin has shown her true colors and that she’s in it for herself, not the people of Wisconsin.
It’s time for change.
I’m in this race for the U.S. Senate for one reason, and it’s simple: I love our country. I plan to get to Washington and use my experience from the real world as an entrepreneur, job creator, and philanthropist to get things done because we have a lot of problems to fix.
Inflation is crushing families, the open southern border has created many dangerous consequences, we have a healthcare system that is breaking, and the radical agenda being forced on our kids must stop.
Our founding fathers wanted citizen legislators — farmers, doctors, businesspeople — who went to Washington and used their real-life experience to get things done for a term or two and then returned back to their community.
As the next U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, I will always put the American people’s interest first and foremost and fight every day to restore the American Dream.
Eric Hovde, born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, is an entrepreneur running as the Republican nominee for Senate in Wisconsin. Eric attended East High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Eric and his wife, Sharon reside in Madison and they have two daughters and three grandchildren. Eric also started The Hovde Foundation alongside his brother, Steve. They have built ten “Hovde Homes” to date, providing shelter, care, and love to vulnerable children and families right here in Wisconsin and all across the world.
