MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republican Eric Hovde on Monday acknowledged Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin’s defeat in the race for U.S. Senate and said he did not want to “increase political unrest with a disputed recount,” even though he denounced exposed election conspiracies.
Hovde, who was endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump, could have requested a recount since his defeat was less than a percentage point by about 29,000 votes. He would have had to pay for it himself.
Baldwin’s campaign referred requests for comment on Hovde’s concession Monday to her victory speech last week. In that address, Baldwin pledged to work with Trump when possible, but also vowed to fight him to protect the national health care law and abortion rights.
Hovde, in his concession video, reiterated claims he first made last week, saying there are “many troubling issues” surrounding mail-in ballots in Milwaukee and the timing of their reporting. Republicans, Democrats and nonpartisan election officials all rejected the claims of impropriety made by Hovde.
“Without a detailed review of all ballots and their legitimacy, which will be difficult to achieve in court, a recount request would be futile as only the same ballots will be recounted again regardless of their integrity,” Hovde said Monday.
Although there is no evidence of any wrongdoing in the election, many Hovde supporters questioned a surge in votes for Baldwin that was reported from Milwaukee around 4:30 a.m. the morning after the election. These voices exaggerated Baldwin.
The votes were a tabular analysis of mail-in ballots from Milwaukee. These ballots are counted at a central location and reported all at once, often well after midnight on Election Day. Election officials have made it clear for years that these ballots are reported later than usual because of the sheer numbers that need to be counted and the fact that state law does not allow them to be processed before polls open.
Both Republicans and Democrats, as well as state and Milwaukee election officials, warned in the days and weeks before the election that mail-in votes in Milwaukee would be reported slow and lead to a huge influx of Democratic votes.
Hovde also reiterated his complaint about the candidacy of Thomas Leager, who ran as a member of the America First Party. Leager, a far-right candidate who was recruited by Democratic activists and donors to run as a conservative, came a distant fourth.
Republicans supported independent presidential candidates Cornel West and Jill Stein in their efforts to steal votes from Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. And Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to have his name removed from the ballot in Wisconsin and other swing states after endorsing Trump.
In the Wisconsin Senate race, Leager received about 400 votes fewer than the margin between Baldwin and Hovde. But Hovde claimed Monday that he would have won the Senate race if Leager had not participated in the election.
Baldwin declared victory after The Associated Press called the race for her on November 6. She surpassed Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost Wisconsin by about as many votes as Baldwin defeated Hovde.
Baldwin’s victory was offset by nationwide Democratic losses that allowed Republicans to take control of the Senate.
Her victory was the narrowest of her three Senate races. Baldwin won by almost 6 percentage points in 2012 and by almost 11 points in 2018.
Hovde, a millionaire bank owner and real estate developer, first ran for Senate in 2012 but lost in the Republican primary. He poured millions of dollars of his own money into his losing campaign this year.
Hovde on Monday did not rule out another political campaign in the future. Some Republicans have touted him as a potential candidate for governor in 2026.
