Here are three ways the outcome of Wisconsin’s US Senate election will impact your life

At their recent statewide TV debate, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and challenger Eric Hovde covered 17 different topics. Here are some that affect Wisconsinites in deeply personal ways.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running for a third six-year term in the US Senate. She is being challenged by Republican banker Eric Hovde. Here are three ways the race’s winner will affect people in Wisconsin in some way.

#1: Reproductive rights

Hovde has historically expressed anti-choice views – vocally supporting the overturning of Roe v. Wade and recently proposing a 12-14 week abortion ban, with exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Hovde has also spread untrue claims about after-birth abortions, as recently as the recent  Senate debate televised statewide. 

In contrast, Baldwin has firmly and consistently fought for reproductive healthcare rights. Baldwin authored and introduced the Women’s Health Protection Act, which proposes federal protections of abortion care—essentially codifying the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law so that future US Supreme Court justices cannot repeal them. In the debate with Hovde, Baldwin noted how the striking down of Roe led to a checkerboard of women’s rights or restrictions, depending on which state they were in. 

“A woman’s rights and freedoms should not depend upon her zip code or state,” Baldwin said.

#2: LGBTQ+ protections

As the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to the US Senate, Baldwin has continuously advocated for rights and protections – helping instate the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, which protected the rights of same-sex marriages to be federally recognized. 

On the contrary, Hovde has repeatedly leveraged attacks against transgender individuals. He has fought against Title IX protections for transgender students, consistently targeted trans athletes, and accused his opponents of supporting “radical transgender ideology for kids.”

#3: Access to health care

Hovde is campaigning on wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and pass measures that would reduce the amount of time that young adults are able to stay on their family’s health plan. Despite his criticisms of the ACA, Hovde has yet to propose an alternative.

Baldwin helped to write the Affordable Care Act during her time in the House of Representatives and served as a leading advocate for young adults’ representation in the bill. 

Want to learn more? Click here to see all of this year’s stories about the Baldwin-Hovde contest.