Sen. Tammy Baldwin, seeking re-election, is facing a strong challenge from Republican opponent Eric Hovde, who is courting crucial independent voters in the swing state.
In an April poll by Marquette University Law, Baldwin was ahead of Hovde 52%-47% among registered voters. In a poll of likely voters, a better barometer of Election Day, they are tied 50%-50%.
Washington Times columnist Robert Knight calls Wisconsin a wild card purplish state when voters there cast a ballot.
“A lot of Upstate is very conservative,” he says. “Heck, Appleton was the home of the John Birch Society. Can't get too much more conservative than that.”
Before Joe Biden officially won the state in 2020, Donald Trump won the state in 2016 but then Baldwin cruised to a 11-point victory in 2018.
“The fact that a Republican candidate is neck-and-neck with Tammy Baldwin,” Knight says, “is good news for the Republicans in Wisconsin."
