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Yes.
Running for U.S. Senate in 2012, Wisconsin Republican Eric Hovde lamented the number of children “born out of wedlock,” saying it is “a direct path to a life of poverty. There’s been numerous studies that show that it leads to higher drug rates.”
Hovde is running against U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in November 2024.
A Baldwin ad excerpted Hovde’s comments and claimed he “thinks if you have a single mom, you’re going to be poor or a drug addict.”
Hovde’s campaign said that’s not what Hovde thinks and that he was alluding to federal data showing single-parent households linked to poverty and drug abuse.
Studies show a correlation between single-parent families and poverty and adolescent drug abuse.
Higher-income people are much more likely to marry, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
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Sources
SoundCloud Eric Hovde on AM 1360 WTAQ with Jerry Bader by Eric Hovde
Team Punchbowl News Baldwin ad features kids raised by single moms
Google Docs Eric Hovde campaign email, Aug. 14, 2024
Substance use & misuse Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use: An Exploration of Single-Parent Families
MDPI Family Structure, Unstructured Socializing, and Heavy Substance Use among Adolescents
University of Texas Connection Between Single Parenting and Adolescent Substance Use, Depression Strongest Among the Most Advantaged Children
Annie E. Casey Foundation Child Well-Being in Single-Parent Families
National Women’s Law Center National Snapshot: Poverty Among Women & Families in 2022
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Poverty status of children by family structure
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