Republican businessman Eric Hovde has refused to admit his defeat to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), leaving the door open for a recount in Wisconsin’s Senate contest.
Following the declaration of the race in Baldwin’s favor, Hovde remained silent for nearly a week before posting a video on social media criticizing the outcome without providing evidence to support his claims. Baldwin defeated Hovde 49.4% to 48.5%.
“Once the final information is available and all options are reviewed, I’ll announce my decision on how to proceed,” Hovde said in the video .
Hovde cited a ballot dump in Milwaukee County, one of the state’s Democratic strongholds. In the video, Hovde stated that he was “shocked by what unfolded on election night” when ballots were still being counted in Milwaukee County. He stated that “based on the models,” it appeared that he would defeat Baldwin. Milwaukee County’s findings, he added, left him “deeply concerned.”
Milwaukee County does not have “ballot dumps.” Because it is the state’s most populous county and many of its citizens vote absentee, the county counts votes at a slower rate than the rest of the state. Wisconsin does not allow the processing of absentee ballots before Election Day, unlike other states.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson issued a statement from the city commission that “unequivocally” rejected “Hovde’s baseless claims regarding the integrity of our election process.” The Milwaukee Elections Commission declared Hovde’s claims “baseless.”
In addition, Hovde falsified some numerical data in his video. Hovde claimed that Baldwin received “nearly 90% of those ballots” when Milwaukee reported the final batches of absentee ballots at approximately 4:00 a.m.
“Statistically, this outcome seems improbable, as it didn’t match the patterns from same-day voting in Milwaukee,” Hovde told reporters.
In truth, the genuine totals from the city of Milwaukee revealed that Baldwin received approximately 82% of absentee ballots in Milwaukee, which was close to her 78% victory margin.
Brian Schimming, the Wisconsin GOP chairman, acknowledged Hovde’s loss in an interview with NPR. Hovde recognized his loss in an interview with WISN-AM.
“It’s the most painful loss that I’ve ever experienced,” he stated in the interview.
Prior to his comments Tuesday evening, Hovde had repeatedly stated that he would accept the election results regardless of whether he won or lost.
He did not specify whether he intended to pursue a recount, but he said he was keeping his options open. The margin of Hovde’s loss exceeds 0.25%, implying that Hovde’s campaign, which was mostly self-funded, would have to pay for the recount.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nathan Trueblood, a Wisconsin-based GOP operative, and former Trump lawyer John Eastman are advising Hovde on his future actions. For his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, Eastman faced indictment. As of Wednesday, Hovde denied that he works with Eastman.
In reaction to Hovde’s allegations, Baldwin accused him of “spreading lies from the darkest corners of the internet to undercut our free and fair elections.”
“Wisconsin voters have made their voices heard,” Baldwin wrote on social media. “It’s time for Hovde to stop this disgusting attack on our democracy and concede.”
Hovde did receive some sympathy from Republican Kari Lake, who has lost two statewide elections in Arizona and has repeatedly denied the outcome of the state’s 2022 governor race. She shared on social media that she was “praying” for Hovde.