Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde conceded in his race against Sen. Tammy Baldwin Monday nearly two weeks after the Nov. 5 election.
"As a result, and my desire not to add to political strife through a contentious recount, I have decided to concede the election," Hovde said in a video released Monday.
Hovde said he didn’t regret running for the U.S. Senate, but said he would take a “much-needed break” and return to his businesses and look for “other ways to make an impact” through philanthropic work.
The concession comes after Hovde released a video on Nov. 12 in which he questioned “irregularities” in the results. While Associated Press called the race for Baldwin on Nov. 6, Hovde claimed that certain precincts in Milwaukee had over 200% voter turnout, which the Wisconsin Elections Commission later refuted in a statement released Thursday.
Hovde held a narrow lead over Baldwin before Milwaukee — which counts its ballots at one central location — reported its ballots. Baldwin took the lead after those results came in around 4 a.m. Nov. 6.
The Milwaukee Election Commission had to recount about 34,000 ballots on Election Day after the doors of tabulator machines were not locked and sealed. Both parties agreed nothing wrong was done, according to Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs.
Milwaukee is a historically heavily Democratic city, with Baldwin winning 71.5% of the vote against Wisconsin State Sen. Leah Vukmir in Milwaukee County in 2018.
Hovde, who lost by about 29,000 votes, received about 54,000 fewer votes than President-elect Donald Trump. Baldwin received about 5,000 more votes than Vice President Kamala Harris.
In Wisconsin, candidates can only ask for a recount if they trail by one percentage point or less. In the official tally, Hovde currently trails Baldwin by 0.9%. Wisconsin precincts have until Tuesday to certify their results, and Hovde has until Thursday to request a recount.
Anna Kleiber is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the arts editor. Anna has written in-depth on elections, legislative maps and campus news. She has interned with WisPolitics and Madison Magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @annakleiber03.
