Wisconsin Republican Senate Candidate Concedes to Incumbent Tammy Baldwin

After holding off for nearly two weeks since Election Day, Wisconsin Republican candidate Eric Hovde has conceded the race to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D). 

The Associated Press called the race for Baldwin on the day after the election, after the two-term senator won by less than 1% of the vote. But Hovde did not immediately concede, citing what he believed were voting irregularities in the results, due to the high volume of absentee ballots in Milwaukee County. It’s not unusual for ballots to continue being counted after Election Day, especially in a state like Wisconsin that doesn’t allow for preprocessing ballots. 

“The results from election night were disappointing,” Hovde said Monday in a video posted to X, “particularly in light of the last-minute absentee ballots that were dropped in Milwaukee, flipping the outcome.”

Hovde’s only options moving forward were to concede or request a recount, which he would have been allowed to do under Wisconsin law. Since Election Day, Baldwin’s team has called for Hovde to concede the race.

“I’ve heard from numerous supporters urging me to challenge the election results,” Hovde said in the video. “However, without a detailed review of all the ballots and their legitimacy, which would be difficult to obtain in the courts, a request for a recount would serve no purpose because you will just be counting the same ballots regardless of their integrity. As a result, I’ve decided to concede the election.”

Last update, Nov. 13

One week after the election, Wisconsin Republican candidate Eric Hovde still hasn’t conceded to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) after she defeated Hovde.

The Associated Press called the race for Baldwin last week, after the two-term senator won by roughly 29,000 votes (less than 1%). While Republicans gained back control of the Senate after this election, flipping three states, Baldwin’s win gives them a narrower majority.

In a statement released after the race, Baldwin and her campaign claimed victory and urged Hovde to concede. “Hovde said he would accept the results of the election. Now that he has lost to Tammy Baldwin, it is time for him to honor that commitment.”

But as of Wednesday, Hovde was still casting doubt on the results. He reportedly told WisPolitics that he has consulted with “multiple different attorneys, both national and Wisconsin based.”

In a video posted to X on Tuesday, the candidate said he’s “concerned” about the outcome. “I was shocked by what unfolded on election night,” he said. “At 1 a.m. I was receiving calls of congratulations, and based on the models, it appeared I would win the Senate race. Then, at 4 a.m. Milwaukee reported approximately 108,000 absentee ballots, with Senator Baldwin receiving nearly 90% of those ballots. Statistically, this outcome seems improbable.”

It’s not unusual for ballots to continue being counted after Election Day, due to the typically high volume of absentee ballots that arrive before, on and sometimes after the election. Wisconsin does not allow for pre-processing ballots like other states.

Another factor is the method Wisconsin’s most populous county uses to count ballots. Milwaukee County uses a central count system, meaning that after the polls close, poll workers transport those ballots from the voting locations to a central count location where workers use election scanners to tabulate votes.

It’s also not uncommon for a Republican candidate seeking office to refuse or wait a relatively long time to concede. “Many people have reached out and urged me to contest the election,” Hovde said in the video. “While I’m concerned, asking for a recount is a serious decision that requires careful consideration.”

Under Wisconsin law, a candidate can ask for a recount if the candidate is trailing the leading candidate by no more than 1% of the vote. But it must be requested no later than 5 p.m. on the third business day after county canvassers submit their results to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Since the race was called, Hovde has described what he claims are irregularities in the voting results despite no evidence of such, the AP reported.

But in a radio interview on Tuesday, Hovde also appeared to acknowledge his defeat, telling the interviewer that the race was “the most painful loss I’ve ever experienced.”

In a statement to Democracy Docket, Baldwin’s campaign slammed Hovde for calling the results into question.

“Eric Hovde has stooped as low as a politician can go: sowing doubt about our very democracy,” spokesman Andrew Mamo said. “Leaders on both sides of the aisle should condemn the lies he’s spreading and the pathetic campaign he continues to run. Tammy Baldwin has won this race and there is only one thing for Eric Hovde to do: concede.”