U.S. Senate Republican candidate in Pennsylvania Dave McCormick speaks at a meet and greet with Pennsylvania judicial candidates at County Corvette in West Chester, Pa., Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)

With Eric Hovde officially joining the Wisconsin Senate race, there are now three Midwest Republicans running for U.S. Senate with dubious ties to their claimed home states.

The banking executive announced his Senate bid on Tuesday, and he is the GOP frontrunner to win the nomination in Wisconsin’s Republican primary election next month. Should he advance, Hovde will face incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) in November.

However, Hovde has extensive ties to the West Coast. In addition to operating two businesses in California, Hovde owns a $7 million estate in a Laguna Beach gated community that features its own yacht parking and private fire department.

According to a recent poll from Marquette University Law School, 82% of Wisconsin voters don’t know enough about Hovde to have an opinion about him. Hovde was named one of the most influential people in Orange County three years in a row, but he contends that he only spends about three months of the year in California.

In 2011, Hovde purchased a home in Wisconsin after he and his wife lived in Washington D.C. for 23 years. He mentioned in his announcement speech Tuesday that his great grandparents emigrated to Wisconsin from Norway 100 years ago.

Hovde unsuccessfully ran for the same Senate seat in 2012, where he lost the primary election to former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson by 18,371 votes. Hovde joins Pennsylvania’s David McCormick and Montana’s Tim Sheehy as 2024 Republican Senate candidates with strong ties to states that are not their claimed home states.

McCormick is challenging incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D) and vying for a U.S. Senate seat for the second time in three years. Despite seeking a Pennsylvania seat, McCormick owns property in several states including a ranch in Colorado, a condo in Dallas and a $16 million mansion in Connecticut that he rents. McCormick justified his time in Connecticut as a way to spend time with his high-school-aged daughter from a previous marriage.

In 2022, McCormick narrowly lost his primary battle against former daytime television host Dr. Mehmet Oz, who himself faced scrutiny for whether his permanent residency was in Pennsylvania. Before losing to Democrat John Fetterman in the general election, reports found that Oz owned properties in Turkey, New Jersey and a $48 million property in Palm Beach, Fla.

In Montana, Republicans have recruited Sheehy, who is a former Marine and Minnesota native. According to government records, Sheehy moved to Montana to start his wildfire management company in 2014.

Sheehy is a political newcomer who has flip-flopped on issues like climate change, health care and government expansion, but the Montana  race is one of three Senate races listed as a toss-up for 2024. If Sheehy wins the GOP nomination, he will face incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D) in November. A recent poll gave Tester a nine-point edge over Sheehy.