Republican Eric Hovde officially enters Wisconsin Senate race against Tammy Baldwin

Wisconsin businessman Eric Hovde officially launched his Senate campaign Tuesday, finally giving Republicans a challenger against Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in a crucial battleground race that could determine control of the chamber.

His announcement, made in a 30-second video, ends months of speculation over who the GOP would pit against Baldwin, a strong and well-funded incumbent.

"Our country is facing enormous challenges. Our economy, our health care, crime and open borders. Everything is going in the wrong direction," Hovde said in the video.

"All Washington does is divide us and talk about who's to blame and nothing gets done. That's not the country I know and love," he adds. Hovde then introduces himself and says, "I'm running for the U.S. Senate."

Campaign spokesperson Ben Voelkel told NBC News that Hovde would be holding a "special announcement" in Madison later Tuesday afternoon.

Hovde, a multi-millionaire whose business empire includes a Madison-based real estate company as well as several banking companies on the West Coast, is expected to be able to partly self-fund his campaign. Having run for office previously, he also has the benefit of some name recognition among voters — though a Marquette University Law School poll last month found that more than eight in 10 registered voters in the state didn't know enough about Hovde to form an opinion of him.

But while Republicans view Wisconsin as being among the party’s top pickup opportunities this fall, defeating Baldwin, a two-term senator and a prolific fundraiser, will not be easy — even in a presidential year with a vulnerable incumbent Democrat at the top of the ticket.

That’s in large part due to the fact that state and national Democrats, having