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Lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin's Republican opponent attacks her partner in campaign ads

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Andy Manis/Getty Images

From left: Tammy Baldwin and Eric Hovde

The ads accuse her of a conflict of interest but appear to be targeting her for being LGBTQ+.

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Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s Republican opponent, Eric Hovde, is running ads accusing her of a conflict of interest because her female partner advises Wall Street firms — but they appear to be aimed at reminding voters that Baldwin’s a lesbian.

The latest ad, which began running on TV in Madison, Wis., last week, calls Maria Brisbane Baldwin’s “life partner” and an adviser to “the superrich and private equity.” It says Baldwin no longer lives in Wisconsin but in New York City and that she is “the third senator from New York.” It also says Baldwin “received over $1.3 million from N.Y. donors.” Another ad has a woman sitting in her kitchen saying, “Baldwin’s in bed with Wall Street.”

Hovde and Republican groups, including a super PAC connected to his brother, have run at least eight ads in this vein since August, CNN reports.

Asked if Hovde was out to remind voters that Baldwin’s gay, she told CNN, “I think he is.” Hovde countered, “Oh, come on, I could care less whether she’s gay. I mean, this is a ridiculous question.”

Baldwin, first elected to the Senate in 2012, was the first out LGBTQ+ U.S. senator. Before that, she was in the U.S. House of Representatives, having been initially elected in 1998 — the first LGBTQ+ person to win a seat in that body while being out from the get-go. Others had come out while in office.

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She denied she has any conflict of interest because of Brisbane’s work. When CNN asked if Brisbane should disclose her clients, Baldwin said, “If I was dating a doctor, should they disclose their patients? I mean, come on. Just, stay out of my personal life. I disclose everything that I’m legally required to disclose.” Senate rules require members to disclose their spouses’ assets, but Baldwin and Brisbane are not married.

Baldwin “does not refer to Ms. Brisbane as a ‘life partner,’ though they have been dating for a few years, according to her campaign,” The New York Times reports.

Baldwin broke up with Lauren Azar, her partner of 15 years, in 2010. They had a domestic partnership in Wisconsin in the pre-marriage equality era.

Baldwin also has “limited ability” to regulate financial firms, the Times points out, as she is not a member of the Banking or Finance committees.

The latest ad “puts the spotlight on Ms. Baldwin’s personal life in an attempt to turn a low-key Midwesterner into a high-flying East Coast elitist,” the Times notes. “And it also tries to invert one of Democrats’ most effective criticisms of Mr. Hovde, the extremely wealthy chairman and chief executive of a bank in Utah.” He has “a $7 million mansion in Laguna Beach, Calif." and "tenuous ties to the state he hopes to represent in the Senate,” the paper adds.

Hovde is characterizing Baldwin as “in so many words, a rich Wall Street lesbian — hoping that both her sexuality and her partner’s wealth will give some voters pause,” the Times concludes.

Baldwin has been popular in Wisconsin, having been reelected to the Senate in 2018 and elected to multiple terms in the House before that. Previously, she was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Dane County Board of Supervisors. But Hovde’s challenge has made her 2024 reelection race a close one.

He has previously attacked Baldwin with a misleading ad on gender-affirming care. He is anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion, and he has made comments disparaging single mothers and nursing home residents. He also has said overweight people should pay more for health care, but he told CNN he has “backed off that view.” Former presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spoken to him about dangers to the U.S. food supply, he said, without going into detail. Kennedy, however, is known for many bizarre conspiracy theories.

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