Eric Hovde, a Republican businessman from Wisconsin, announced on Tuesday that he is running for the Senate to unseat Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin.

Hovde, in a 30 second video, said that “our country faces enormous challenges”: Our economy, our health-care system, crime, and open borders – everything is moving in the wrong directions.

Washington divides us, blames others and does nothing. Hovde stated, “That’s not my country. I love it.” He called for unity and common-sense solutions in order to restore America.

Hovde is running for the Senate for the second time. In 2012, Hovde lost the GOP primaries to the former Wisconsin governor. Tommy Thompson was defeated in the general elections by Baldwin.

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Hovde, the CEO of many companies and a family-founded company in real estate development, is also Hovde Properties. He is also the CEO of H Bancorp – a holding company for multiple banks – and Sunwest Bank – a subsidiary.

The Madison-based businessman also owns an $7 million property at Laguna Beach in California.

Steve Daines is the Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and he has recruited several candidates for 2024 who are able to finance their own campaigns.

In an interview last month with CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, Daines praised Hovde and said, “He makes Wisconsin a play.” Daines added, “It is a state where you look back at the election of ’22, we won every state Trump won in ’22. In every state where Trump lost we lost the Senate race of ’22…except for Wisconsin, where Ron Johnson was re-elected there.”

“He has been focusing on his career in the private sector and creating jobs and businesses. Hovde was described by him as a “great candidate”.

Baldwin is running for her third term as governor of Wisconsin. Republicans hoping to gain control of the Senate by November are targeting her seat.

In the two most recent presidential elections, less than one percentage point determined the winner of a battleground state. In 2016, the former president Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 0.8% in Wisconsin. Joe Biden won the 2020 election by a margin of just 0.6% over Trump.

The Republicans are well-positioned to take control of the Senate in this year. Several seats currently held by Democrats will be up for reelection, and they are located in Republican or Republican leaning states. Republicans need only flip two seats to gain control of Senate. If Republicans win the White House they only need flip one seat, because the vice-president will break ties.

Hovde currently is the leading candidate in the Republican primaries. Mike Gallagher, Tom Tiffany and other members of Congress have both announced that they will not be running for the Senate in this year. Scott Mayer, a businessman, and David Clarke (former Milwaukee County Sheriff) are still mulling over a bid.