Republican candidate Eric Hovde won the GOP primary for Wisconsin’s Senate seat, setting the stage for one of the most competitive elections of the 2024 cycle that will help determine the balance of power in the upper chamber next year.
Hovde handily defeated his two Republican opponents after garnering 90.4% of the vote with 6% of ballots tallied. The Associated Press called the race in his favor at 9:20 p.m. Eastern.
Hovde will go on to face Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who holds one of 23 seats Democrats must defend in order to keep their slim majority in the Senate. The race is rated as “Lean Democratic” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report but has emerged as one of the most crucial seats to hold on to in November.
