Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin has defeated Republican Eric Hovde, capping off an unexpectedly tight race between the incumbent lawmaker and the businessman.
The Associated Press called the race at 1:42 p.m. ET on Nov. 6.
Republicans have won control of the Senate, though the size of the majority is still undetermined.
At publication time, Republicans had 52 seats to the Democrats’ 44.
Baldwin was first elected in 2012, defeating former Gov. Tommy Thompson, a Republican.
She beat Republican Leah Vukmir in 2018, two years after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump won the state in 2016 and two years before he lost it in 2020 to then-candidate Joe Biden.
Tight polling in the weeks ahead of Election Day intensified interest in the contest.
Some surveys in mid-to-late October showed the two neck and neck, while research from Marquette University Law School had Baldwin leading by as much as 4 percent.
A poll from InsiderAdvantage released on Oct. 29 had Hovde ahead of Baldwin by a point.
By late October, the Cook Political Report rated the race a tossup.
The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association hosted a debate between the pair on Oct. 18.
Hovde, a real estate developer who also leads Sunwest Bank, said his background would be an asset in a divided Congress.
“In the world of business, you have to reach across the aisle—you have to compromise—because you’re never gonna get anything done,” he said, lauding Sen. Joe Manchin as a former Democrat he had admired for working with Republicans.
Baldwin, who was in the Wisconsin Assembly and the House before representing her state in the U.S. Senate, singled out Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) as a Republican she appreciates as a model of bipartisanship.
“I fight for Wisconsin, and only Wisconsin, which means I’ll work with Republicans or Democrats, Republican administrations or Democrat administration, to get the job done for Wisconsin—but also stand up to them if necessary,” Baldwin said.
Hovde’s campaign has tied Baldwin to Biden, highlighting her consistent record of voting with the Biden administration’s agenda.
One Hovde ad features Biden calling Baldwin “one of the best senators in the United States Senate” and says she voted with him 95.5 percent of the time.
Baldwin and her allies have questioned Hovde’s relationship to California and SunWest, portraying the fourth-generation Wisconsinite as an outsider with a conflict of interest because of that institution.
The Senate race’s importance was further amplified by Wisconsin’s status as a presidential swing state.
Vice President Kamala Harris had also drawn attention to the race, spotlighting Baldwin’s presence at an October rally in Green Bay.
“We need her back in D.C.,” Harris said.
