Wisconsin Republican Senate candidates Eric Hovde and Tommy Thompson are denouncing government spending on the campaign trail. But a close look at their personal fortunes reveal the two have greatly benefitted from—wait for it—government contracts.

In Hovde’s case, he’s been speaking out against wasteful government spending and sweetheart deals. But AP reports that a tech company he has a big stake in, ePlus, got more than $70 million in government contracts since 2005, mainly with the U.S. Department of Defense. This same company also received millions under the 2009 federal stimulus package.

As for Thompson, he’s been spending a lot of time railing the Affordable Health Care Act. Yet, according to Politico, Thompson “held positions in eight companies and organizations that either benefitted from Obamacare, strongly supported its passage, or were considered models for the national law.”

Thompson’s stint as the Health and Human Service director under George W. Bush served him very well in the private sector. After leaving his government position, he was paid handsomely for advising clients such as the powerful drug industry trade group PhRMA, which spent millions to promote the health care bill ahead of 2010 midterm elections. Thompson also seems to have forgotten that once upon a time he praised the individual mandate in the 2006 Massachusetts health care law. (Of course, most Republicans these days want to forget their prior support of the individual mandate.)

Not surprisingly, both Hovde and Thompson deny that the government contracts they benefitted from are sweetheart deals or inappropriate. But that’s the thing about politicians, on both sides of the aisle: They will say anything to win a race.

If you liked this story by Elizabeth DiNovella, the Culture Editor of The Progressive magazine, check out her story "GOP Picks Millionaire to Run in Wisconsin Senate Race."

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