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Eric Hovde Blames a Third-Party Candidate for His Loss

Hovde said Democrats were supporting a candidate who said he was an unindicted co-conspirator in the unsuccessful 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, costing him the election.

Eric Hovde AP-24051826528769
Hovde called a third-party candidate a Democratic “plant.” John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP

Wisconsin’s GOP senate candidate, Eric Hovde, is, at this point, refusing to concede to Sen. Tammy Baldwin and blaming a third-party candidate who netted a vote count of almost exactly Hovde’s loss margin.

“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,” Hovde said in a press release from his campaign on Wednesday morning. “We will continue to monitor returns and make sure that every vote is counted.”

The “fraudulent candidate” in question is Thomas Leager, an “America First” candidate who told the Associated Press last month he was recruited by operatives with the Patriots Run Project. The AP found that some Democratic donors were giving to Leager and others “supporting a plan to boost Democrats and siphon votes from Republicans.” The AP also found PRP to be supported by Democratic firms and donors.