Baldwin edges Hovde in Wisconsin Senate race fundraising

Incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) raised more from donors than Republican Eric Hovde in the first quarter of Wisconsin’s closely watched Senate race, but the GOP challenger gave his campaign a boost with an $8 million loan in his bid to flip the seat.

Baldwin’s principal campaign committee brought in roughly $4.7 million in contributions and ended the quarter with $10.3 million in the bank, according to new filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Her campaign reported a $5.4 million total haul for the quarter, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Hovde reported raising around $1 million in contributions through his principal campaign committee — and then loaned his campaign another $8 million, ending the quarter with $5.3 million in the bank, per the FEC filing. 

The businessman has suggested he could put as much as $20 million of his own funds into his campaign, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Hovde, who jumped into the race back in February after much speculation, is vying to unseat the two-term Democratic incumbent who was comfortably elected to her seat in 2012 and 2018. 

An Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey of Wisconsin voters last month found Baldwin with a 3-point edge over Hovde, but the Republican also scored the backing of former President Trump earlier this month. 

Wisconsin is among a handful of key battleground states that are set to decide control of the Senate — and could swing the presidential race.