Appleton man is invited guest to State of the Union address

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WBAY) - An Appleton man is in the audience at the U.S. Capitol for President Biden’s State of the Union address.

David Hovde is attending as the guest of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin).

It’s a big honor for Hovde, who was selected after coming to Sen. Baldwin with concerns about the high cost of insulin.

Hovde sat next to Sen. Baldwin during an online news interview Tuesday afternoon after arriving in Washington, D.C.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Baldwin supported and the president signed into law last year, the price of insulin was capped at $35 per month for seniors on Medicare Part D. The law also allows Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

Hovde says being able to highlight his concern and attend the State of the Union address in person was completely unexpected.

“Just honestly to take in, to take in the whole event -- of course, I’ve seen it many times on television, and I’m guessing some of it will be similar but most of it will be completely different witnessing it there in person,” Hovde said.

He told us family and friends are excited for him and they’ll be tuning in Tuesday night in case his face pops up on the screen.

“Several people have said, well, where can we, what can we watch? Where we might see you? And I thought, well, probably nowhere because I don’t think the camera is going to come up, and that’s just as well,” Hovde said.

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