Brooks: Shirtless politician plunges into icy lake to prove to Wisconsin he’s got what it takes

If a shirtless politician breaks through the ice of a frozen lake, does he make a splash?

Eric Hovde certainly did.

The scene opens on icy Lake Mendota. Before you click on anything, heed the warning he posted along with the video: “!! Warning… the video contains graphic images of a Wisconsin man in a cold lake. Not safe for Californians and career politicians !!”

“It was hard to break through but it’s good to get out here for a good cold plunge,” a voice narrates, poking at the icy crust that still glazed the lake. Slowly, the camera pans to reveal a shirtless Hovde, nipple-deep in Lake Mendota.

Hovde, a Republican, is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin while also running a company that is not based in the Badger State. He reportedly shot the video near a home he owns on Lake Mendota.

“So the Dems and Sen. Baldwin keep saying I’m not from Wisconsin, which is a complete joke,” Hovde continued, back hair fluttering in the frigid breeze. “Alright Sen. Baldwin, why don’t you get out here in this frozen lake and let’s really see who’s from Wisconsin.”

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin had a one-word response to Hovde’s invitation to go jump in a lake to prove how Wisconsin-y she is. “No.”

Wisconsin Democrats were not so amused by the stunt.

”If California bank owner Eric Hovde thinks sitting in a lake is going to stop us from telling Wisconsinites about his California bank, California megamansion, and California ties, he’s going to be swimming a whole lot for the next eight months,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Arik Wolk said in a statement.

Baldwin invited her supporters to “take the plunge” and donate to her campaign.

But there’s no question that Hovde is now the top result for every internet search for “shirtless Wisconsin politician,” which is really the only way a politician wants to be the top search result for shirtlessness in an election year.

Hovde was born and raised in Wisconsin but, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, also owns a $7 million estate in Laguna Beach and is the “H” in California-based H Bancorp.

Oh, and be careful going for a swim in Lake Mendota, everyone. That lake can be full of cyanobacteria.