EAGLE RIVER - As the August 14th Republican primary election approaches, the race for U-S Senate is heating up.

Two names are dominating the four-man race. Former governor Tommy Thompson leads political newcomer and businessman Eric Hovde. Polls out this week show a lead from two to eight percent.

Hovde was in Eagle River this afternoon as part of his Take Back Wisconsin tour. He's focused largely on the economy in this campaign.

We asked him how he could help the Northwoods, where unemployment is higher than the rest of the state.

"You have to fix it from a national economic standpoint. You have to have certainty with our debt, and you have to change the tax structure," he said. "Canada has moved their tax rate below 20 percent. If you're a businessperson, are you going to build a factory here in the Northwoods, where your tax rate is going to be 35 percent, the highest in the globe, or to Canada, where your tax rate is going to be almost half that, and then ship it back to the United States?"

Hovde told supporters he's focused on facts instead of negative campaigning.

His opponents have negatively focused on his absence from Wisconsin as he ran businesses from Washington, D.C.

Hovde dismissed the accusations, pointing three generations of family in Wisconsin, as well as his graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He did confirm owning a residence in Washington, D.C.

Other candidates are former Congressman Mark Neumann and state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald.

Story By: Lex Gray