WASHINGTON — Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s reelection campaign will release a new digital ad Sunday night highlighting a moment during her debate with Republican opponent, Eric Hovde, in which he said he could not speak extensively on all aspects of the Farm Bill.
The ad targeting farmers and rural voters will mention Baldwin's endorsement by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation earlier this month, the senator’s campaign told Spectrum News.
“They know she works tirelessly for Wisconsin's farmers and rural communities,” the ad will say.
Hovde’s campaign could not be immediately reached for comment. But in early October when the Farm Bureau endorsed Baldwin, a spokesman for Hovde said, “Tammy Baldwin has continually failed Wisconsin farmers” and they will hold her “accountable” in November.
During the debate Friday, Hovde and Baldwin were asked how each would vote on a new Farm Bill. Hovde said he has a lot of issues with it, and he couldn’t “opine specifically on all aspects” of the Farm Bill because he’s not in the U.S. Senate.
“One of the problems I have with a lot of the Farm Bills is they’re masquerading as Farm Bills, and while they address some of the needs of farmers, a lot of the bills are just funding big corporations that have nothing to do with farming,” Hovde said Friday. “So I have a great concern about that, and I think Farm Bills need to get back for farmers.”
A new Farm Bill needs to be approved every five years. The current bill was set to expire October 2023, but Congress extended it another year. Congress will eventually have to come to a permanent agreement, but right now, Republicans and Democrats blame each other for the delay.
In her response Friday, Baldwin said Congress needs to pass a Farm Bill that’s balanced.
“We need to provide that certainty to Wisconsin farmers,” she said during the debate. “They need the consistency that a Farm Bill has. But one of the problems with the Farm Bill right now is that the House, controlled by Republicans, has written a bill that's basically eviscerated nutrition programs. Farmers support nutrition programs because it means purchasing their goods.”