Sen. Tammy Baldwin Photo: Screenshot Milwaukee Journal
Presidential candidate Kamala Harris held her first official campaign event on Tuesday in the must-win battleground state of Wisconsin, introduced by two-term out Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who enthusiastically endorsed her historic candidacy.
“I am so proud to support Kamala Harris for President of the United States!” Baldwin told a crowd of thousands packed into a high school gym outside Milwaukee. They roared their approval.
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The kickoff rally in suburban West Allis came just 48 hours after President Joe Biden abandoned his run for a second term and endorsed his vice president. In the two days since, Democrats have raised an astonishing $256 million in support of the Harris campaign, with half that number from small donors.
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In their remarks, both Baldwin and Harris highlighted the importance of Wisconsin on the electoral map.
“There’s a reason she’s kicking things off right here in Wisconsin,” Baldwin said of the presumptive Democratic nominee. “Because we are the battleground state. Wisconsin will likely decide who occupies the White House and which party controls the United States Senate. No pressure!”
In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost Wisconsin to Donald Trump by less than one percent of the vote, a tipping point in the election that handed Trump the presidency even though he lost the popular vote.
In 2020, Biden flipped Wisconsin blue by an even narrower margin.
Baldwin is running for a third term in the Senate against Trump-endorsed MAGA candidate Republican Eric Hovde, a multi-millionaire who first ran for the seat in 2012 but lost in the primary to former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson.
The wannabe pol considered a second run against Baldwin in 2018 but demurred; same for a run against Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) in 2022.
Hovde, 59, has said he’s “totally opposed” to abortion, wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and wants to ban trans athletes from sports.
Since his first Senate campaign, the far-right Republican has grown a statement-making mustache and taken up part-time residence in Orange County, California, where he owns and runs Sunwest Bank, opening himself up to carpetbagging charges by Baldwin.
“Eric Hovde owns a $3 billion California bank,” Baldwin told rallygoers. “He owns a $7 million ocean-view mansion in Laguna Beach, and he’s actually been named one of Orange County’s most influential residents three years in a row. Folks, we have a Green County, we have a Brown County. We do not have an Orange County in Wisconsin!”
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