Out Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has won her re-election race against anti-LGBTQ+ Republican candidate Eric Hovde by a thin margin of just 29,098 votes. But Hovde refuses to concede and may request a recount after claiming that irregularities affected the elections outcome. A bipartisan election commission has called his claims baseless.What happened in this election does not inspire confidence in our process, and that is wrong, Hovde said in a video posted on X on Tuesday evening. Like many of my supporters, I was shocked by what unfolded on Election Night. At 1 a.m., I was receiving calls of congratulations, and based on the models, it appeared I would win the Senate race. Then, at 4 a.m., Milwaukee reported approximately 108,000 absentee ballots, with Sen. Baldwin receiving nearly 90% of those ballots. Related Tammy Baldwin calls out her GOP opponents ads about her partner as homophobic Republican Eric Hovde is using Baldwins girlfriend to undermine the two-term incumbent. Milwaukee often counts its absentee ballots late into the tabulation process, and those ballots have historically favored Democratic voters, The Wisconsin Examiner reported. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Hovde also claimed that the voter turnout in Milwaukee precincts was higher than the number of registered voters posted on the countys website, but the websites number doesnt account for the historic and record-breaking turnout number of new voters who registered to vote on Election Day, according to U.S. News & World Report.Many people have reached out and urged me to contest the election. While Im deeply concerned, asking for a recount is a serious decision that requires careful consideration, Hovde said. Further, there are meaningful limits on a recount, because they dont look at the integrity of a ballot.Once the final information is available and all options are reviewed, I will announce my decision on how I will proceed, he said. Many people have reached out to me with concerns about the voting inconsistencies we experienced on Election Day. Here are my thoughts: pic.twitter.com/zDvaeHaizw Eric Hovde (@EricHovde) November 12, 2024In a statement posted on her campaigns X account, Baldwin wrote, Eric Hovde is spreading lies from the darkest corners of the internet to undercut our free and fair elections. Wisconsin voters made their voices heard. Its time for Hovde to stop this disgusting attack on our democracy and concede.The Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC) unequivocally refutes Eric Hovdes baseless claims regarding the integrity of our election process, the bipartisan commission wrote in a Tuesday statement, adding, Every aspect of the MECs operations was conducted with transparency and in strict adherence to established laws and procedures.Former Wisconsin Republican lawmaker Joe Handrick criticized Hovdes claims on X, writing, The internet is awash with the mathematically challenged claiming fraud because a late-night dump in [Milwaukee] stole the election from Hovde It was predicted. The actual [Kamala] Harris gain from the Milwaukee absentees was 68,154. The Baldwin gain was 70,530, he wrote. Baldwin won 69% of the votes in Milwaukee County, counteracting Hovdes wins in the states less populous rural counties.If Hovde requests a recount, hed have to pay for its cost of a few million dollars. State law gives candidates three days after the final count to request a recount, but the state will only pay for the recount if the vote difference accounts to less than a quarter of a percent. Baldwins margin of victory was just less than 1%.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.