Frederica Freyberg:
Wisconsin was the tipping point for Donald Trump’s victory. When our results came in, they pushed him over the top. Final results – Trump with 49.7% of the vote to Kamala Harris’s 48.8%. In Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race, incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin beat Republican Eric Hovde by a similarly close margin, with Baldwin at 49.4% to Hovde 48.5%. Senior political reporter Zac Schultz has more.

Zac Schultz:
Election day 2024 arrived with gray skies and a steady rain. As voters cast their ballots, Democrats were convinced Kamala Harris was pulling away in the final days of the election.

Brian Schimming:
There were a lot of people who didn’t think we could do this.

Zac Schultz:
Brian Schimming is the chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. He says it was the hard work of thousands of volunteers who convinced voters to send Donald Trump back to the White House.

Brian Schimming:
This got done because volunteers and staff across this state went out and talked to over a million and a half voters.

Zac Schultz:
As the polls closed, results started coming in and showed the race for president and U.S. Senate would be tight. The election night party for Democrat Tammy Baldwin was largely empty. Baldwin herself never showed. It was up to Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez to inform the handful of supporters it would be a late night.

Sara Rodriguez:
So we’re just starting to see some of these results roll in, and I want to level with you. We are likely not going to know the Senate results until much, much later in the evening.

Zac Schultz:
Republican Eric Hovde mingled with guests at his party, and at least they could celebrate as state after state was called for Donald Trump. Finally, when it was clear the absentee ballots out of the city of Milwaukee’s Central Count would not be enough for Harris to catch up to Trump in Wisconsin, the room erupted.

Brian Schimming:
Wisconsin is the state that put Donald Trump over 270 electoral votes last night.

Zac Schultz:
However, there were enough votes left for Baldwin to surpass Hovde, although she had to wait a long time to deliver her victory speech.

Tammy Baldwin:
And to the people of Wisconsin, thank you for putting your trust in me as your United States Senator. Let’s get to work.