Republican Eric Hovde Concedes to Tammy Baldwin in Tight Wisconsin Senate Race Without Recount

(Left) Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) in Milwaukee, Wis., on June 8, 2024. (Right) U.S. businessman Eric Hovde in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 16, 2024. Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for The Democratic Party of Wisconsin; Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Wisconsin’s close Senate race has ended without a recount.

In a Nov. 18 video message on X, Republican businessman Eric Hovde conceded to incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). The move came days ahead of the deadline for Hovde to call for a recount in the tight race. Baldwin’s margin of victory was under 1 percent, allowing her challenger to pursue a recount.

President-elect Donald Trump won in the state, beating Vice President Kamala Harris by less than 1 percent.

“A request for a recount would serve no purpose because you will just be recounting the same ballots, regardless of their integrity,” Hovde said in his video, adding that he believes a more thorough audit cannot readily be obtained through the justice system.

In a previous video posted to X, Hovde raised questions about absentee ballots that were added to the total very early on the morning after Election Day in Milwaukee. That was after they had been tallied at the city’s central count for absentee ballots. Under Wisconsin law, absentee ballots cannot be counted until Election Day.

The city recorded 107,568 absentee ballots in its unofficial total for the Senate race. About 82 percent, or 88,229, went to Baldwin, who has served in the Senate since 2013. Only 16 percent went to Hovde.

In his Nov. 12 video, Hovde claimed Baldwin had received “nearly 90 percent” of the late-night absentee ballots.

“Statistically, this outcome seems improbable, as it didn’t match the patterns from same-day voting,” he said.

In fact, same-day voting did look better for Hovde in the deep-blue city. He received just under 22 percent of that vote, compared to 75 percent that went to Baldwin.

Baldwin accused him of “spreading lies from the darkest corners of the internet to undercut our free and fair elections” in a Nov. 12 post on X.

“Obviously, the outcome is not what I'd hoped for. But I do not regret entering this race,” Hovde said in his Nov. 18 video. He called for campaign reforms, saying campaigns should clarify the sources of outside money and be made answerable for the accuracy of their claims.

Republicans gained a majority in the Senate in November’s voting and elected Sen. John Thune (R-S.C.) to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as majority leader.

Wisconsin’s contest wasn’t the only tight race marked by controversy.

Although The Associated Press has called the Pennsylvania Senate race for Republican Dave McCormick, the margin was narrow enough to trigger a recount.

“Our Commonwealth ran a free and fair election, and we are still waiting on the final results,” incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) wrote on X on Nov. 11.

Democratic commissioners in Bucks County have continued to count votes disqualified under a State Supreme Court decision shortly before Election Day.

“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country,” Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said.