Eric Hovde’s anti-trans attacks against Baldwin may not be a winning strategy, but they’re still dangerous
Wisconsin elections are decided in the margins. This time, they could also be decided by the marginalized. Guest column for The Recombobulation Area.
Vol. 51 1/2
This isn’t a full edition, but I was recently asked to contribute a short essay to Dan Shafer’s excellent newsletter, The Recombobulation Area, and I wanted to share it out with y’all. I dig into the recent glut of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ ads and comments being made by Eric Hovde and his campaign (and the GOP in general) and what that does and doesn’t mean for this election. I’m re-printing part of that article below, but please head over to the original to read the whole thing, and definitely subscribe to TRA for lots of great Wisconsin reporting.
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin faces a serious challenge in November. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report recently shifted the race from “Leans Democratic” to “Toss Up” for the first time this cycle in her match-up with Republican businessman Eric Hovde.
There are many factors shaping the race, most notably that it’s a presidential election year and Wisconsin is always a 50/50 state, with statewide races often decided by less than a percentage point. It’s going to take consistent, proactive messaging and outreach to get every possible voter out to tip the scales one way or another. So, which issues are the candidates focused on?
According to a recent Gallup poll, the economy ranks as the No. 1 issue in the upcoming presidential election. After that, democracy in the U.S., terrorism and national security, the types of Supreme Court justices candidates would pick as president, and immigration all rank as next highest in the list of 22 possible issues. Dead last? Transgender rights.
You wouldn’t know that based on how much money and energy Hovde and his GOP counterparts are pouring into anti-trans advertising and rhetoric. The multi-millionaire real estate developer and California bank owner, who would become one of the wealthiest senators if he beats Baldwin in November, has invested heavily in ads specifically targeting the incumbent with overtly transphobic messaging.
The ads are part of a whopping $65 million in spending by the GOP on anti-trans ads in swing states like Wisconsin. One ad accuses Baldwin of supporting “providing puberty blockers and sex change surgeries to minor children,” while another claims that she “ensured hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars went to a Madison nonprofit that pushes an aggressive LGBTQ agenda on kids.” All of this is false and/or misleading, not to mention the fact that it paints Baldwin’s very real and consistent support for LGBTQ+ people and our rights as a bad thing.
The nonprofit they’re referring to is Briarpatch Youth Services, which does incredible work to support young people facing housing insecurity. The freak-out is related to one program of Briarpatch that specifically supports LGBTQ+ youth who are unhoused and/or dealing with hostile home environments. The money Baldwin helped secure for Briarpatch went specifically to their housing services and not to that program. A small detail like that never seems to stop someone determined to gin up a fake moral panic for political gain, though.
Hovde himself has made bigoted and false statements about transgender people, including during an appearance on right-wing talk radio where he claimed that transgender youth have the highest rates of suicide in the country because they regret transitioning. This is, of course, untrue. All available evidence from medical professionals and testimony from trans youth points to the biggest stressor being the rejection, medical gatekeeping, and bullying they’re subjected to by a transphobic culture.
Instead of talking about policies he would support to lower the cost of living, improve healthcare, secure our democracy, or any of the other issues people are far more concerned with, Hovde and the GOP have decided to double down on spreading hateful lies about an already marginalized group of people.
Why? It certainly hasn’t proven to be an effective strategy for them at the ballot box. Previous attempts to campaign on anti-trans rhetoric were roundly rejected by voters across the country.
Final Frame.
Got to spend some time near Columbus, Ohio for a work retreat this week and the bonus is that the area is in peak fall color. Get outside and enjoy the changing seasons while and if you can!
‘Til Next Time.
Take care of each other, vote early, and free Palestine.
