GOP U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde isn’t conceding to Dem Tammy Baldwin this morning, saying in a statement his campaign will “continue to monitor returns and make sure that every vote is counted.”
According to unofficial returns from The Associated Press, Baldwin, D-Madison, had a lead of 28,687 votes with 99% of precincts reporting. That’s a difference of 0.9%.
Under state law, a candidate in second place with a margin of no more than 1% may request a recount. If the margin is 0.25% or less, taxpayers pick up the cost. Otherwise, the petitioner has to pick up the tab.
Baldwin early this morning declared victory, but AP hasn’t called the race.
Libertarian activist Phil Anderson, running under the Disrupt the Corruption banner, had 42,210 votes as of this morning, while Thomas Leager, who Dems helped get on the ballot and ran as an America First Party candidate, had 28,633.
As he did when addressing supporters last night, Hovde continued to bemoan Leager being in the race.
“We’re watching the final precinct results come in,” Hovde said. “We’re certainly disappointed that the Democrats’ effort to siphon votes with a fraudulent candidate had a significant impact on the race, with those votes making up more than the entire margin of the race right now.”