Farm Bill Becomes Lightning Rod in Wisconsin Senate Race

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republican Senate campaigner Eric Hovde has repeatedly defended his self-professed deficiency of cognition astir the U.S. workplace measure successful the campaign’s closing days, aft archetypal saying successful a debate that helium is “not an expert” connected the authorities that is captious to farmers successful the authorities known arsenic America’s Dairyland.

Hovde’s comments implicit the past week came aft the incumbent, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, secured the endorsement of the usually Republican-aligned Wisconsin Farm Bureau, making her the archetypal Democratic campaigner for a statewide bureau to person it successful much than 20 years.

Both Hovde, who is backed by erstwhile President Donald Trump, and Baldwin accidental the race is razor thin, with imaginable bulk power of the Senate connected the line. Democrats are defending 23 seats, portion Republicans person conscionable 11 up for grabs this election.

Hovde was asked during the race’s lone statement with Baldwin connected Oct. 18 astir the workplace measure and helium responded, “I’m not an adept connected the workplace measure due to the fact that I’m not successful the U.S. Senate.” Baldwin has utilized those comments successful integer and vigor ads attacking Hovde, touting her Farm Bureau endorsement and saying Hovde “doesn’t springiness a damn astir farmers.”

In the week since the debate, Hovde hasn’t backed down from his comment.

“Why successful God’s greenish Earth would I cognize each the details successful a workplace measure erstwhile I’m not serving successful this Senate close now?” helium told reporters aft helium voted Tuesday.

Hovde called disapproval of his statement reply “absurd.”

“I answered,” Hovde said. “I said the contented with the cultivation measure is lone astir 20% of it’s for farmers. I deliberation workplace bills request to get backmost to being for farmers, not large peculiar firm interests.”

In an quality Monday connected blimpish speech radio, Hovde criticized questions asked during the statement that was organized by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.

“I’m getting a question connected the cultivation bill,” helium said connected the Vicki McKenna show. “Like I’m expected to person studied successful depth? But I did springiness the answer, which is the close one. The cultivation measure is nary longer a measure astir farmers. They telephone it the workplace bill, (but) lone astir 25% of the measure is for farmers. It’s each for large firm interests, nutrient stamps, everything else.”

He faulted the statement sheet with asking him astir the workplace measure and contamination from PFAS known arsenic “forever chemicals,” but not asking the candidates much astir inflation, migration and crime.

During a Thursday run halt successful Eau Claire, Hovde tried to enactment Baldwin connected the spot and said that if she were asked astir what was successful the workplace bill, “she wouldn’t person a clue.”

“For anybody to deliberation that idiosyncratic is going to cognize successful item everything successful the workplace measure — which is conscionable a large drawback container successful spending — is insane,” the Eau Claire Leader Telegram reported Hovde arsenic saying. “I deliberation the workplace measure should get backmost to being for farmers.”

Baldwin, successful her effect during the debate, said the measure needs to supply “certainty to Wisconsin farmers.”

“They request the consistency that a workplace measure has,” she said. “But 1 of the problems with the workplace measure close present is that the House, controlled by Republicans, has written a measure that’s fundamentally eviscerated nutrition programs. Farmers enactment nutrition programs due to the fact that it means purchasing their goods.”

Congress passed the past workplace measure successful 2018. It was acceptable to expire adjacent the extremity of 2023, but Congress extended it for different twelvemonth aft Republicans and Democrats could not agree connected reauthorization.

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Topics Agribusiness Wisconsin