Republican Eric Hovde concedes in Wisconsin Senate race

Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde announced that he is conceding in the Wisconsin Senate race after previously questioning the results.

Decision Desk HQ/The Hill declared incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) the race’s winner more than a week ago, with Baldwin taking 49.4 percent of the vote to Hovde’s 48.5 percent and over 28,000 votes separating them.

“The results from election night were disappointing, particularly in light of the last-minute absentee ballots that were dropped in Milwaukee at 4 a.m. flipping the outcome,” Hovde said in a six-minute video on X posted Monday.

“I have heard from numerous supporters urging me to challenge the election results. However, without a detailed review of all the ballots and their legitimacy, which will be difficult to obtain in the courts, a request for a recount would serve no purpose, because you will just be recounting the same ballots, regardless of their integrity,” he added. “As a result, and my desire to not add to political strife through a contentious recount, I've decided to concede the election.”

In a video he posted last week, Hovde said he was “shocked” by the events and blamed the loss on same-day voter registration and poorly maintained voter rolls. He also hinted at a potential recount effort.

His claims were met by backlash from GOP members like former Wisconsin Republican lawmaker Joe Handrick, who said the loss was “predicted” in polling. The state’s former Commerce Secretary, Bill McCoshen also slammed arguments for why Hovde lost as a “conspiracy.”