The lobbies, the unions, the whoever
funnel money into the DNC and the RNC.
The leadership in Congress just tells the members
what they're supposed to do, how they're supposed to vote.
If they don't comply, play along,
and at least work with the corruption of the system,
they get primaried out, they get lack of funding,
they get lousy committee assignments, et cetera,
and eventually they don't serve in Congress anymore.
That's why we have the situation that we do.
They don't respond to us.
The idea of America as being a place
where people have rights,
and when we need to decide things,
we do so democratically, is completely broken.
It doesn't work anymore.
It almost doesn't exist.
And that's why I'm representing everybody in this race.
Every single person who's not one of the higher-ups
in the Republican or Democratic parties
or one of the big moneyed interests,
I'm representing you, because you're not being heard
and you're not being represented.
We have a massive corrupt system
that is not what our founders intended,
not what we believe it is, nor what it should be.
And the only way to fix it is two different things.
Number one, we need to overturn and get rid of the idea
that corporations are people
in as much as they have actual human rights.
Now, I'm not for getting rid of corporations entirely.
They're very useful in business
and mitigating risk and those sorts of things.
But the idea that they're people with rights like free speech
is ridiculous and should be insulting
to everybody who takes the time to think about it.
Humans have rights, not organizations.
It's silly, but that is what allows
all the corruption to happen.
For all these industries, lobbies, unions,
whatever, to spend a ton of money into politics,
overwhelming any one individual's ability
to affect the system by their own free speech.
Number two.
Number two, and this is very important,
we need to stop thinking election cycles only.
You're hearing it from everybody.
"Don't waste your vote.
"This is the most important election of our lifetime.
"We can't afford four more years of Trump.
We can't have four more years of Harris."
Hovde, Baldwin, whatever it might be.
That's all a trap.
It's not true.
It's all a trap,
and it just perpetuates the current system,
which is controlled by Democrats, Republicans,
and their sponsors.
We need to think beyond that.
If you register your vote according to your conscience,
according to the person that represents you
in not only your short-term interest,
but your long-term interest
and your desire for the United States government to work
and to be faithful to the Constitution,
consider voting for somebody like me
because even in a loss, that means something.
That means there's support for the ideas that I represent.
There's support for the idea
that our government is broken and we need to fix it.
And right now, if you just give up your vote
to the lesser of two evils,
all you're doing is helping perpetuate a system
that doesn't care about you, that doesn't listen to you,
that doesn't respond to you, that hides things from you,
that cheats you,
that goes to wars on your behalf over lies,
all of these things.
Let's fix it.
Consider voting for me on November 5.
Thank you.
[upbeat music]
- I'm Eric Hovde and I'm running for the U.S. Senate.
I'm a fourth-generation Wisconsinite,
born and raised in Madison, attended East High,
and graduated as a proud Badger in 1986.
I'm your classic entrepreneur,
founding my first business in my 20s.
My main businesses today are Hovde Properties,
a real estate development company here in Wisconsin,
and Community Banking.
However, I've been involved in many businesses,
which have given me a broad spectrum of experiences.
In my 20s, I was given the shocking news
of having multiple sclerosis.
And while I struggled for many years,
fortunately, my MS has been mostly stable
for the last 20 years.
Because of that diagnosis,
it propelled me to start the Hovde Foundation.
At first, it focused on medical research and MS,
but I expanded its focus to rescue children
who have been abandoned to the streets,
abused, and used in the sex trade.
I founded the Hovde Homes, which provide shelter,
care, education, and love to those children.
Today, there are 10 Hovde Homes around the world
that are responsible for rescuing
well over 5,000 children.
I was blessed to meet the love of my life, Sharon,
and we have two daughters and three grandchildren.
So why would a guy with a pretty good life
get into this ugly business called politics?
Well, it's simple.
I love my country.
I understand how blessed we are
to live in this country called America,
which has provided more civil liberties,
prosperity, and freedom to its people
than any country in human history.
Unfortunately, I'm deeply concerned
about the direction our country has taken
over the last 20 years.
First, our politics has become too divisive,
and instead of trying to work together
to solve the problems our country is facing,
we live in our own echo chambers and demonize the other side.
We have lost our ability to cooperate
and to put the broader interests of the American people first.
Second, I'm concerned about
how Washington has become corrupt.
Far too many of our politicians today
care only about getting reelected
and raise money from special interest groups
that they become beholden to.
I made the promise that I will not take
corporate special interest money, which I have not,
unlike my opponent, Senator Baldwin,
who raises enormous amounts of money
from Wall Street, Big Pharma, and Big Tech.
I'm deeply concerned
that we are bankrupting our country.
In the last three and a half years,
we've added more debt
than our country's first 230-year history.
This reckless spending is the reason
we've had 40-year highs in inflation
that is crushing families
and putting the American dream out of touch.
I'm also concerned about our domestic security.
The opening of our southern border
has had devastating consequences
and has helped fuel the fentanyl crisis.
In the last two years,
we've lost over 220,000 Americans to this poison.
My opponent, Senator Baldwin,
has been in Washington for 26 years.
She's a big part of the problem.
She voted for every single spending bill
that caused record-high debt and inflation,
and voted not to secure our southern border.
I believe it's time for change.
My hope is to bring my skill sets
to fix many of the problems our country is facing today,
like a lack of affordable housing
and a health care system that is breaking.
I believe we need to return to the citizen legislator,
somebody who served for a term or two,
brings their skill sets from the real world
to improve our country
instead of having career politicians.
I'd be honored to have your vote.
And if you do elect me as your U.S. senator,
I will put the people of Wisconsin's interests first
and use my talents to get things done.
Thank you for your time.