Brookfield7: For me, it's Hovde, Fitzgerald, Neumann, Thompson, in that order

Way back in October of 2011, Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald announced he was running for U.S. Senate. At that time, he was my likely pick over Tommy Thompson or Mark Neumann. I didn't want Thompson when he was toying with running in 2010. (Thank Goodness we had Ron Johnson step into that race.) I'm still not liking Thompson in this 2012 race, for the same reasons: he's not all that conservative, he was a big spender, and he is too old. Thankfully, Eric Hovde, the newest candidate to enter the 2012 race to fill Herb Kohl's vacant seat, is pulling ahead.

I have liked Eric Hovde ever since I heard him interviewed on Mark Belling's radio show some months ago. Hovde talked about how he was conservative, even in his college years. He mentioned how he was required to give 2 speeches for one of his classes and he chose to do both, extolling Reagan's policies. And that was in Madison! (Hovde's father worked for the Regan administration.)

I thought, there aren't many college students who are conservative (people tend to grow more conservative with time), much less at the University of Wisconsin - Madison! That indicated to me he was able to stand up for his convictions, which is an important quality in a U.S. Senator. His ads are hitting a lot of the issues important to me.

Needless to say, any one of the 4 in the running would be a vast improvement over what we had in Kohl and certainly over Tammy Baldwin.

So I am still deciding, but I think Eric Hovde will get my vote. Seems other people are thinking that too since he is giving Thompson a run for his money now.

Wisconsin's Primary is August 14th. The winner will go on to face Democrat Tammy Baldwin in November.

Website: Eric Hovde U.S. Senate