Three candidates on the Aug. 13 primary ballot will vie to be the Republican challenger to incumbent Tammy Baldwin for her U.S. Senate seat in November.
Charles Barman is a farmer from Sharon, Wis., who ran a campaign for Wisconsin’s Congressional District 1 in 2022 and lost. Eric Hovde is the CEO of H Bancorp, a bank holding company, and runs Hovde Properties, a development company. He lost a bid in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2012. Rejani Raveendran is a college student at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. This is her first campaign.
Candidates answered the following questions by phone. As of publication time, Hovde’s campaign has not responded to interview requests. Answers are edited for clarity and brevity.
Charles Barman
You and your Republican opponents all agree that balancing the budget, lowering—or at least not increasing—taxes, and cutting spending are necessary measures. How exactly will you accomplish this? What are your specific goals for your first year if elected?
The residents of Wisconsin need a real working person in Washington. That’s me.
As long as the Federal Reserve can print money and give it to whomever they want, we’re not going to straighten out the economy. We need to get rid of the Federal Reserve.
We are giving billions to Ukraine. We are giving money to people coming across the border. I would work to stop that.
I would also work to use the same technology we used to round up the people involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, to round up the criminals who were involved in the Jacob Blake riots in Kenosha.
How do you stay informed on issues affecting your constituents?
I listen to talk radio and I have appeared on talk radio. I have handed out over a thousand business cards and talked to people. I’ve stood in front of grocery stores, gas stations, gone to Trump rallies and fairs and festivals, meeting and talking to people.
Affordable housing and economic inequality are important issues for Door County voters. What is your stance on these issues?
Door County is similar to Lake Geneva. The same problems are there, employers can’t find workers because workers can’t find affordable housing. It’s a big problem in tourism markets.
Who’s to blame?
The government is to blame. Someone with a mansion in those communities, paying $7,000 in property tax every year, where does that money go? It’s supposed to go to schools, but the schools aren’t exactly the Taj Mahal.
Those taxes are ill-gotten gains, we need to stop corruption, and people have to challenge where this money is going.
Use that money to build three- or four-story buildings instead, and set it up so it’s government-owned affordable housing. Not like Section 8. Never Section 8. That is the privatization of public housing. Keep it public.
Can you describe a situation where your personal values conflict with constituents’ wishes and how you handled it? Or how would you handle it?
I’m not going to put anyone down. I hold people accountable to their words. I’m purple, not far right-red and not blue. I can listen to both sides.
Is there anything else you would like Door County voters and Knock readers to know about you and your campaign?
I worked for 20 years in steel mills and was the superintendent of massive multi-million dollar jobs building high rises in Chicago. I am a veteran. I have good business sense. I’m a farmer.
Vote for me and I’ll get rid of Tammy Baldwin. She’s done nothing for me or regular folks. She votes along straight party lines and is a party politician. Wisconsin is not a party politician state.
Rejani Raveendran
You and your Republican opponents all agree that balancing the budget, lowering—or at least not increasing—taxes, and cutting spending are necessary measures. How exactly will you accomplish this? What are your specific goals for your first year if elected?
The thing we have to understand is, we have good tax revenue. The problem is overspending. We have trillions in national debt and we can pay it off with a few solutions.
Border security—we must close our borders and stop the flow of illegal aliens. Keep our money for our own people.
Stop funding for overseas wars. We are sending billions to Ukraine.
We do not have the money for these things. We are borrowing money and giving it away to other countries.
Bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
The U.S. needs energy independence. We have to open our oil wells (and) start drilling. There will be enough for us and to sell to other countries. If we pay off the national debt, we revive the economy.
The U.S. has a really big government. We do not need this much government. For example, we don’t need a federal Department of Education. Defund (that department) and give that right to the states.
We need to cut down on shakedowns by government agencies by cutting regulations.
If we do this, people will have good paying jobs, (and) they can take care of their families (and) take care of their healthcare. We need the courage to implement these things. I have that courage.
How do you stay informed on issues affecting your constituents?
I’m a regular person, not a career politician. I’m a no-name candidate. I deal with regular people on a day-to-day basis. I go to the grocery store and comparison shop. I struggle to pay my mortgage. I have three children who need new clothes (and) sometimes new shoes every month.
Your problems are my problems. I understand them.
I read online news to stay current.
Affordable housing and economic inequality are important issues for Door County voters. What is your stance on these issues?
I am a student at UW-Stevens Point and many of the students who are Gen Z are struggling with homelessness and not being able to find affordable living. I know a graduate who is working three jobs, 83 hours a week, and renting a small apartment.
Gen Z is struggling with the housing issue especially. I’m very well aware. I want to make housing, groceries and gas affordable.
This is where energy independence and securing the borders will come into play. We are using money where we shouldn’t be. The money we’re spending on war and illegal aliens could and should be used helping our young people.
Can you describe a situation where your personal values conflict with constituents’ wishes and how you handled it? Or how would you handle it?
We are a constitutional republic. I will work with anyone on any bill for the good of the people. If it comes to a bipartisan vote to provide housing and resolve inequality, I would happily work with anyone, even someone who doesn’t share my values.
This speaks to needing single-issue bills, individual bills, not big packaged bills. So we can see each issue broken down and vote on them separately.
Is there anything else you would like Door County voters and Knock readers to know about you and your campaign?
I am a single mom, a domestic violence survivor, a homelessness survivor. I am a born-again Christian. I have three children and am a single mother.
The future of my children is the future of this country. This is my home. This is my desperate attempt to save my home. I have nowhere else to go and I want to make it better for everyone. I ask voters to find out more about me and give me your vote in the primary.