Republican Wisconsin Senate candidate says he doesn’t oppose elderly people voting

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican candidate in Wisconsin’s closely watched U.S. Senate race emphasized this week that he doesn’t oppose elderly people voting after initially saying that “almost nobody in a nursing home” is at a point in life where they are capable of voting.

Eric Hovde faces Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in the race that is essential for Democrats to win in order to maintain their majority in the Senate. A Marquette University Law School poll this week showed the race is about even among likely voters.

Baldwin and Democrats have been attacking Hovde over comments he first made April 5 on a Fox News radio show about nursing home voting. Who can vote in a nursing home, and how they cast their ballots, has been a hot issue in Wisconsin since 2020 when supporters of former President Donald Trump alleged that people were voting illegally.

No charges were brought, and President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump has withstood a nonpartisan audit, numerous lawsuits, a partial recount and a review by a conservative law firm.

But Hovde has been raising the issue of nursing home voting when discussing what he said were problems with the 2020 election.

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