With Election Day rapidly approaching on Nov. 4, candidates Tammy Baldwin (D) and Eric Hovde (R) are in the race for Wisconsin’s Representative in the Senate. The Marquette Wire had the opportunity to interview both Senate candidates about their campaigns and attempt to answer any questions young voters may have before Election Day. Baldwin’s interview was conducted via email, and Hovde’s via telephone call.
With just one week left until Election Day, Democratic and Republican candidates are battling as hard as possible to win the approval of the swing state that is Wisconsin.
This year, Hovde and Baldwin are the politicians fighting for the incumbent Baldwin’s current spot. The Dairy State’s senators at the moment are Ron Johnson (R) and Baldwin.
“Even if you’re voting in your home state, staying engaged in Wisconsin’s election is crucial because this November, Wisconsin is going to be the battleground state that’s going to decide who controls the Senate, the White House and the future of our country,” Baldwin said in an email.
She then detailed why college students should vote for her, stating she is hoping to make education less expensive with the “America’s College Promise Act,” a partnership between the federal and state governments with Native American tribes and minority serving institutions to help lower tuition for some students in certain types of colleges.
“Education opens so many doors for students but it’s too expensive, plain and simple. I support common-sense solutions so students can get a college degree without taking on backbreaking debt,” Baldwin said in an email.
Hovde said that although he doesn’t support student debt relief, he is unhappy with the rising cost of education and sympathetic to people who may be struggling to pay off college and/or student debt for decades.
“I’m not in agreement with relieving student debt because it’s patently unfair to the vast majority of people in the country. I think what you have to do is you have to go at the root problem, and that’s driving down the cost of higher education,” Hovde said in a phone call.
For college students who may be voting for the first time, the cost of education is a relevant issue. For Marquette students, the safety in their college town of Milwaukee may be an issue to consider as well. Recently the crime rates in Milwaukee have been trending down. Both candidates have plans to keep cities safe.
Baldwin secured nearly $90 million in state funding for Wisconsin police departments last year and said if reelected she would continue to prioritize public safety.
Hovde is endorsed by both the Milwaukee Police Association and the Wisconsin Police Association and believes that police departments are underfunded. When asked about a 2024 decrease crime and homicide rates in Milwaukee, he expressed that a downtick in violence might not be the actual case.
“I have been informed that one of the reasons why some of the statistical numbers are actually trending down is that less people are reporting crime, and the Milwaukee Police Department is so understaffed that they’re not reporting the information onto the FBI,” Hovde said in a phone call.
In addition to crime, the cost of healthcare may be an additional factor for young voters to consider.
Baldwin said she is fighting Big Pharma by attempting to pass the “FAIR Drug Pricing Act,” a bipartisan solution to the rising cost of medical drugs
“I won’t stop fighting until no one has to decide between buying their medication or their groceries,” Baldwin said in an email.
In regard to women’s healthcare, Baldwin said that she is working to codify Roe v. Wade through her “Women’s Health Protection Act” and is also working to pass the “Right to Contraception Act,” which would keep access to all forms of birth control legal.
Hovde said he thinks the current American healthcare system needs reform because the Affordable Care Act has failed many Americans. He said he believes monopolies have no place in healthcare.
“The cost of healthcare is bankrupting individuals and companies. It’s putting a great strain on them, and access to care is declining,” Hovde said in a phone call.
Baldwin said if reelected, she wants to continue making positive, lasting changes for Wisconsin families. Despite being labeled by her opponents at times as just a career politician for Washington D.C., she said she is proud of her accomplishments for the Badger State.
“My singular focus is on working for Wisconsin and I’ll work with anyone to do it. Over 70% of my votes as a U.S. Senator have been bipartisan because that’s what it takes to get things done,” Baldwin said in an email.
Hovde emphasized his desire for both Democrats and Republicans to lower their back-and-forth political rhetoric. He also mentioned he would stand by the results of the presidential election unless he felt massive voter fraud was present, and he said he hopes Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will each do the same if they lose the election.
“A big part of my campaign is I think we’ve become too politicized, too divisive. I think we need to come together as Americans. We need to cooperate with each other,” Hovde said in a phone call. “We need to stop putting on the blue jersey or the red jersey, fighting amongst ourselves. We gotta put on the red, white and blue jersey.”
Marquette students are able to vote in Wisconsin, even if it is not their home state. Wisconsin is a swing state with tight political margins, including compilations of polls currently showing both presidential candidates tied with 48% of support from voters.
On Election Day, there will be polls on campus at the Alumni Memorial Union and other various places in downtown Milwaukee. Voter information such as polling locations, how to register to vote and other frequently asked questions are available online through Checkmarq under voter information.
This story was written by Ellie Golko and Mia Thurow. They can be reached at elizabeth[email protected] and [email protected].
