Republican makes Tammy Baldwin’s girlfriend an issue

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In Wisconsin’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race, Republican Eric Hovde has focused much of his closing messaging on attacking the finance career of Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s girlfriend, highlighting their same-sex relationship.

In a slew of television ads in the final stretch of the election, Hovde’s campaign has repeatedly mentioned Maria Brisbane, referring to her as Baldwin’s “life partner” or her “girlfriend.” Baldwin publicly refers to Brisbane as her girlfriend.

One such ad, from Hovde’s campaign and a joint fundraising committee, features a woman who identifies as a Wisconsin resident slamming Baldwin for being “in bed with Wall Street.”

“While she sleeps in her girlfriend’s million-dollar condo in New York City, Wisconsin families are getting hammered by high inflation and handouts for illegal immigrants.”

“Tammy and her girlfriend are living large while Wisconsin families foot the bill,” the woman adds.

Another Hovde campaign ad features a narrator talking about Baldwin’s relationship with Brisbane.

“This is Sen. Tammy Baldwin,” the narrator says. “This is her life partner, Maria Brisbane, a Wall Street exec who makes millions advising the super-rich how to make money off industries Tammy regulates.”

“Tammy doesn’t get home to Wisconsin most weekends. She’d rather be in New York at Maria’s $7 million condo,” the narrator adds.

Overall, seven of Republicans’ 34 TV ads that have aired over the last month in the Wisconsin race, which will help determine the balance of power in the Senate, have referenced Baldwin’s girlfriend, according to the tracking firm AdImpact. The number of times those seven ads have run represent more than a quarter of airings of all Republican anti-Baldwin TV ads over the last month.

Baldwin became the first openly gay woman elected to Congress in 1998 and the first openly gay candidate elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Brisbane is a private wealth adviser for a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. Baldwin and Brisbane have been dating since 2018.

Now vying for a third Senate term, Baldwin has said the attacks are designed to distract from her record.

Baldwin and Brisbane are not married, nor are they legal domestic partners. In addition, Baldwin does not sit on any committees — for example, the Senate Banking or Finance committees — that would regulate Wall Street issues.

Baldwin campaign officials and LGBTQ rights organizations said that Hovde’s attack lines amount to a cynical ploy by Republicans.

“Sen. Baldwin’s sexual orientation is not on the ballot, and ads like this again reveal her opponent’s hostility to LGBTQ people,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said. “Sen. Baldwin has never hidden who she is from her constituents and has a proven record of advancing equality and prosperity for all in Wisconsin, and people across the country.”

Baldwin and outside Democratic groups have spotlighted that Hovde has largely lived in California in recent years. Hovde has also frequently attacked Baldwin as an out-of-touch career politician