Shady finances, betting against American companies, and self-enrichment
Welcome to another edition of Transplant Turmoil—the weekly series spotlighting the ways Republican carpetbaggers continue to prove themselves as out-of-touch with the state they’re running in.
“These millionaire carpetbaggers are running on dangerous, out-of-touch platforms that would put working families’ lives and careers in jeopardy,” said End Citizens United Spokesperson Grace Silva. “Their extreme, MAGA agenda will only serve themselves and Trump in the Senate instead of lowering costs, protecting democracy, and safeguarding our rights.”
Here’s what the GOP’s out-of-touch candidates have been up to:
#WISen: California Bank Owner Eric Hovde Refuses to Say if He’ll Divest from His Bank
- When Hovde requested an extension in filing his personal financial disclosure, alarm bells sounded, warning voters that this extension concealed financial incentives has in running for Senate. In addition to his extension, Hovde’s latest answers—or lack thereof—regarding his role at his California bank is gravely concerning. While he maintains that he would step down in managing and serving on the board of the bank, he refuses to say if he’d divest his holdings from the bank, set up a blind trust, or what he’d do about his ownership of the bank. Combined with his already shady finances, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Hovde is only running for Senate to further enrich himself.
- Despite trying to paint himself as an anti-China candidate, last week, the Daily Beast revealed that Hovde’s family business “tried to launch an investment vehicle there.” His faux tough-on-China talk is just a ruse. Hovde will always put his personal finances ahead of protecting American businesses.
- Throughout his campaign, Hovde has managed to insult almost every Wisconsinite, but this weekend, he managed to offend a new bloc of voters. At a Juneteenth celebration, Hovde was asked what knowledge about Black culture he would take away from the event and instead of uplifting anything about Black American culture, Hovde talked about his time in “places like Africa” and highlighted homeless shelters and “rescuing kids off the street.” Black Wisconsinites were quick to call him out for perpetuating negative racial stereotypes and equating a distinctly Black American holiday with his time in Africa.
#PASen: Connecticut Hedge Fund Millionaire Dave McCormick Bet Against American Companies
- Throughout his Senate run, McCormick’s staunch anti-worker beliefs have been on full display. This week, Pennslyvanians learned that while he was CEO, the hedge fund made bets against steel companies, shorting seven American steel companies for a combined value of $84 million. Short selling allows investors, like Bridgewater Associates, to profit from companies losing money and performing badly. At the same time as McCormick’s hedge fund was betting against American companies, they were investing in foreign competitors; they invested $4.6 million in Nippon Steel—a Japanese company—and an additional $13.3 million in Chinese steel companies that dumped cheap steel onto American soil in 2021.
- McCormick was, once again, slammed for investing millions in and profiting off an anti-semitic social website. In March, Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania called on McCormick to divest in the company, which has been backed by—and has hosted—antisemitic and white supremacists figures. Rep. Dan Frankel, whose district includes the Tree of Life synagogue, blasted McCormick’s hypocrisy in dismissing these calls against him because he condemns antisemitism on college campuses. He said, “David McCormick is basically calling out antisemitism on Monday and investing his dollars into a business that makes a home for hate speech on Tuesday.”
#MTSen: Wannabe Cowboy Millionaire Tim Sheehy Saved Himself Thousands on Luxury Vacation Home Property Taxes
- The Montana Independent released a damning new report on how millionaire Tim Sheehy saved tens of thousands of dollars on his property taxes as working Montana families’ taxes soared. With the help of one of his business associates, Sheehy filed a “successful appeal of the valuation of his multimillion-dollar vacation property in Big Sky, saving tens of thousands of dollars,” which reduced the house’s value by $2 million. As he’s saving this enormous sum of cash, Sheehy makes a profit off the luxury vacation property, renting it out for an average of $1,400 a night. Montanans know they cannot trust him to fight to lower costs when he only ever looks out for himself and his bottom line.
- This week, ECU launched a $500,000 ad blitz against Sheehy, exposing him as a wealthy outsider posing as a wannabe cowboy, who came to Montana to buy up large swaths of land and is closing it off to the public, underscoring his support for selling the state’s prized public land to his fellow wealthy out-of-staters. The digital ad campaign, which will run from June 25-July 29, includes five different creatives across streaming video, audio, and social media platforms.
#NVSen: Scam Brown Wanted to Prompt a Recession
- Scam Brown’s terrible economic record is under fresh security following the resurfacing of comments he made in 2022. During the 2022 GOP Senate primary debate—of which Brown failed to secure the nomination—he suggested a single steep interest rate hike that he claimed would stop inflation, but would throw the nation into a recession. When pushed back, Brown downplayed the dangers of his idea by saying that these changes won’t be “pretty or easy” and that the recession would just be “temporary pain.” He was willing to risk throwing the entire economic system into haywire, putting even more pressure on working families. Nevadans know that Brown is out-of-touch with the challenges everyday Americans face and this is just another reminder of the fact.
#MISen: Florida-Man Mike Rogers’ Anti-Abortion History
- The second anniversary of the heinous Dobbs decision brought attention to Mike Rogers’ abysmal record and his hypocrisy on abortion. Despite claiming to support IVF, Rogers’ history in Congress says otherwise. He cosponsored four anti-IVF bills and “repeatedly” cosponsored legislation that would suspend FDA approval of mifepristone. When Roe was overturned, he celebrated the decision that has put millions at risk. Rogers cannot be trusted to make decisions to protect Michiganders’ health.
###