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WASHINGTON — In a passionate speech Thursday, Eric Hovde grumbled about his loss last month to incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. She beat him by less than 30,000 votes. And five weeks later, Hovde still isn’t letting go.
“The press was a propaganda tool against me,” he said.
Hovde, a Republican businessman from Madison, joined politicians at an event hosted by No Labels, a group that promotes finding a common ground among Republicans and Democrats. Although Hovde said he believes in the core mission of No Labels, he used his time on stage to blame Democrats and the press for his loss to Baldwin.
“The whole campaign from the day one ’til the very last day was all about deception,” he said.
He also repeated unproven claims that something wasn’t right with the way ballots were counted in his race.
“Most people thought when they went to bed at 1 a.m. that I had won the election," he said.
Baldwin edged ahead of Hovde just after 4 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, once absentee ballots in Milwaukee were counted. Officials pointed out this happens every election, because absentee ballots in Milwaukee are counted last, and always favor Democratic candidates, because the city’s voters are overwhelmingly Democratic.
Still, Hovde continues to insist something was amiss.
“Our election process is broken,” he said.
Other speakers kept to the spirit of No Labels in their speeches, promoting bipartisanship heading into a new year, with a new Congress and a new presidential administration.
“I am rooting for the success of the GOP,” Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, said.
“The middle isn’t about a party; it’s about governing,” Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, said.
In response to Hovde’s speech, the Wisconsin Democratic Party executive director said his “bizarre rant and airing of grievances… underscores why he’s a loser."
"He proved himself to be a terrible candidate who ran a detestable campaign, and at the end of the day, he has nobody to blame but himself for losing,” Sarah Abel, Democratic Party of Wisconsin executive director, said in a statement to Spectrum News. “We all wish he would scurry back to Orange County already and leave Wisconsin be."
Hovde owns a home in California, and throughout his campaign Democrats accused him of being a carpetbagger.
“I’m a fourth-generation Wisconsinite,” he said Thursday. “I think you can tell by my voice, I’m pretty Wisconsin. I’m 60-years-old. I’ve lived 40 years of my life in Wisconsin. I’ve never been a resident of the state of California for one year of my life. I bought a home five-and-a half-years ago, after my youngest daughter graduated from school in Wisconsin.”
In his concession video, which came nearly two weeks after Election Day, Hovde said he’s returning to his businesses and charitable foundation.
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