Frederica Freyberg:
Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. Senate candidate has not yet conceded his loss to Democrat incumbent Tammy Baldwin and when results are certified, could pay for a recount if she won by 1% or less. This week Eric Hovde posted a video raising the specter of fraud in the election process.

Eric Hovde:
Many people have been wondering why I have remained quiet since election night. I believe it’s better not to comment until I have the facts.

Frederica Freyberg:
But in the four-minute video, Hovde called the election results improbable and made a slew of false statements alluding to election fraud. He went on to say he was shocked by late results out of Milwaukee, when a final batch of absentee ballots were officially tabulated. This 4 a.m. update bumped his opponent, Tammy Baldwin, above him to clinch the race. Absentee ballots always are reported later, resulting in later returns. Hovde also called out what he called voting irregularities in Milwaukee. To that, the city’s election commission responded “The Milwaukee Election Commission unequivocally refutes Eric Hovde’s baseless claims regarding the integrity of our election process. Every aspect of the commission’s operations was conducted with transparency and in strict adherence to established laws and procedures. It is both expected and routine that absentee ballots over 100,000 in this case, are counted and reported in the late hours of election night due to Wisconsin’s high voter turnout and the rigorous verification standards the Milwaukee Election Commission upholds.”