Eric Hovde's campaign digs at Tammy Baldwin with bobbleheads tying her to Biden policies

MADISON – As President Joe Biden and his allies continue to barnstorm Wisconsin, Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde is poking at his Democratic opponent's alignment with the president's administration — with a set of bobbleheads.

Hovde's campaign launched a website on Wednesday — BobbleBaldwin.com — highlighting U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin's tenure in Washington, D.C., and, in particular, the fact that she has voted with Biden's position 95.5% of the time.

It features animated bobbleheads depicting Baldwin and Biden, stating that "we need leaders in the U.S. Senate that will not just bobble along with the status quo, but stand up for what is right for the people of Wisconsin and America."

The bobblehead blitz came ahead of a visit to Madison from Vice President Kamala Harris, who highlighted the Biden administration's efforts to promote union job growth and apprenticeship programs.

Harris delivered remarks from what will be a new Madison Metro Transit facility, where she announced the signing of an executive order aiming to create more registered apprenticeship programs, according to a White House official.

The Hovde camp's website mounts a three-pronged attack against Baldwin, seeking to label her as a career politician, tie her to economic inflation and criticize her for failing to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

"After nearly 40 years as a career politician, Sen. Baldwin just continues to nod along as the Biden agenda has resulted in high inflation, a crisis at our southern border and mountains of debt. Wisconsin deserves an independent leader like Eric Hovde, not a bobblehead like Sen. Baldwin," said Hovde campaign senior adviser Ben Voelkel.

As she seeks a third Senate term, Baldwin will share the ballot with Biden — who, according to FiveThirtyEight's national poll aggregation, has a 40.2% favorability rating. That poll aggregation puts Biden's unfavorable rating at 55.4%.

For her part, Baldwin has rejected Republican efforts to tie economic issues to Biden, and instead blames "corporate greed" and a failure by the federal government to rein it in.

Baldwin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in January that she believes Biden's legacy will be as one of the most "accomplished" and "transformational" presidents in U.S. history. Democrats need to do more to tout Biden's accomplishments, she said, which include student debt relief, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Harris' visit is the latest in a string of recent activity in Wisconsin for top White House officials over the last few months. She last visited the state in late January, when kicked off her nationwide tour focused on abortion access in Waukesha County.

That same week, Biden visited Superior to tout recent investments in infrastructure, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stopped in Milwaukee to highlight investments in skilled labor training. First Lady Jill Biden visited Green Bay last month and Waukesha on Sunday to emphasize abortion access and tout the administration's investment in youth apprenticeships.

As Baldwin grapples with Biden's underwater polling, Hovde will likely be forced to do the same with Republican former President Donald Trump. According to the FiveThirtyEight aggregation, Trump's favorability sits at 43.6% while his unfavorable rating is 51.9%.

The former president has yet to campaign in Wisconsin as part of his 2024 bid, but he frequented the state in 2016 and 2020.

Last month, Hovde said on WISN radio's Mark Belling Show that Trump will be the GOP presidential candidate and he will support him.

Democrats have made similar efforts to troll Hovde, zeroing in on his California-based businesses — H Bancorp and its primary subsidiary, Sunwest Bank — and his 2018 purchase of a hillside estate in Laguna Beach to label him a Californian. They've sold "Hovde for California" shirts, launched a website with the same slogan, and paid cast members of the "Real Housewives of Orange County" to film a video wishing him a "Happy National California Day."

It must be noted that Milwaukee is home to the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which has produced bobbleheads of Biden, Harris, Trump and Republican former Vice President Mike Pence. Baldwin and Hovde have yet to make the cut.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Lawrence Andrea contributed.

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.