Records show Wisconsin Senate candidate Hovde took tobacco subsidies

Wisconsin Senate candidate and businessman Eric Hovde (R) has railed against government subsidies during his campaign — but his real estate firm collected nearly $8,000 in tobacco subsidies from the federal government in the last three years. 

Hovde, a multimillionaire who has given his campaign $4 million already, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was unaware of the subsidies until contacted by the paper and said he would make sure the company stopped receiving them.

He also noted that the subsidies, which came from a program designed to help wean tobacco farmers back into the free market after decades of other subsidies, were much smaller than the roughly $500,000 in grants from the federal stimulus program received by solar energy companies owned by one of his primary opponents, former Rep. Mark Neumann (R-Wis.). 

"It's just a night and day difference," Hovde said of his subsidies compared to those given to the energy companies.

Hovde and Neumann are battling to be the candidate of choice for conservatives unhappy with former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R), who is also running. The fiscally conservative Club for Growth is backing Neumann with attack ads against both of his main opponents, and this revelation could prove to be ad fodder in the future.

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