Even before he formally announced his campaign to be the Republican candidate to run against Senator Tammy Baldwin, Eric Hovde has been getting hammered on the fact that he is living large in Laguna Beach, California, so that he could do hands on management of his banks out west.
In a lame effort to counter this, Eric Hovde made what just might be the most cringeworthy video of this campaign season by going out in an icy lake, because he apparently thinks that is what Wisconsinites do, and then challenging Baldwin to join him in the water:
Considering the fact that the only time you will find a Wisconsinite in a frozen lake is during a New Years Day Polar Bear Plunge or if their ice fishing shanty fell through the ice, he didn't convince a lot of people.
But as Ursula Perano of Politico noted, he's also not doing himself any favors when he is still running ads, which he stars in, for his bank all over in the Southwest:
While it’s not unusual for non-incumbent political candidates to continue working while running for office, it’s a tricky line for Hovde. He’s already faced massive backlash from Democrats who argue he primarily lived in California prior to running for office. Ads starring Hovde continuing to run in another state — out west, no less — contributes more fodder to Democrats’ case.
Sunwest has locations in Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho and Utah, per its website.
Unfortunately for Carpetbagger Hovde, the question of whether his focus will be on his banks out west or the people of Wisconsin is pretty much moot. The only thing that is up for question is whether his bank commercials or his political commercials is more camp.