Wisconsin’s Democratic Sen. Baldwin wins re-election by defeating a Trump-backed opponent

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin won a third term, delivering a victory for Democrats in the swing state that President-elect Donald Trump carried on Tuesday.

Baldwin defeated Republican challenger Eric Hovde, a bank owner and real estate investor endorsed by Trump. Hovde has not conceded the race, which was within the 1 percentage point margin that would allow him to seek a recount, based on unofficial results.

“The voters have spoken and our campaign has won,” Baldwin said after The Associated Press called the race. “The people of Wisconsin have elected someone who always puts Wisconsin first, someone who shows up, listens and works with everyone to get the job done.”

Baldwin declared victory earlier Wednesday after the number of absentee ballots from Milwaukee was reported. She had a 0.9% lead based on the unofficial results, just within the 1% margin that would allow Hovde to request a recount if he pays for it.

In a statement before the AP called the race, Hovde did not concede or say whether he would request a recount.

“We’re seeing the final results from the area come in,” he said. “We are certainly disappointed that Democrats’ vote-getting efforts with a fraudulent candidate had a significant impact on the race, where those votes make up more than the entire margin of the race right now.”

The “fraudulent candidate” Hovde referred to is Thomas Leager of the America First Party. Leager, a far-right candidate who was recruited by democratic agents and donors running as a Conservative, finished a distant fourth, but received more votes than the margin between Baldwin and Hovde.

“It’s a shame if the Democrats wouldn’t have planted a plant, it probably would have been called some time ago,” Hovde told his backers before sending them home. “But you know what? It is what it is.”

Baldwin ran ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost Wisconsin to Trump by less than one percentage point. It is the fifth time in the last seven presidential elections that a presidential election in Wisconsin has been decided by less than one point.

The Baldwin victory comes despite the Republicans takes control of the US Senate by flipping Democratic seats in Ohio and West Virginia.

Democrats were hoping for a Baldwin victory to prevent Republicans from holding both of Wisconsin’s Senate seats.

Although Baldwin’s voting record is liberal, she emphasized bipartisanship throughout her campaign. She became the first statewide Democratic candidate in more than 20 years to win an endorsement from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, the state’s largest agricultural organization.

Hovde tried to portray Baldwin as an untouchable liberal career politician who had not done enough to fight inflation, illegal immigration and crime.

Baldwin won his first Senate race in 2012 against popular former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson by nearly 6 percentage points. Hovde lost to Thompson in that year’s primary. Baldwin won re-election in 2018 by nearly 11 points.