Wisconsin and Pennsylvania Senate race drama, explained

 

Friday, November 15 At Democracy Docket, we always put our readers first. Share this newsletter with a friend and join the movement to support a pro-democracy news outlet like ours. ON THE DOCKET THIS WEEK Sen. Tammy Baldwin calls on Republican opponent to concede Pennsylvania Senate race remains tight, heads to recount Trump makes his pick for attorney general: Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz WISCONSIN Sen. Tammy Baldwin calls on Republican opponent to concede After four years decrying the 2020 race as rigged, all it seemed to take for Republicans to accept the outcome of a general election was to win handily. But as the party basks in their electoral victories, one Senate candidate grapples with his loss. More than one week after the election, Republican Wisconsin Senate candidate Eric Hovde has yet to concede to newly reelected Sen. Tammy Baldwin, and is raising unfounded concerns about potential irregularities in the results. Hovde lost to Baldwin by less than 1% of the vote. But while the race was indeed close, no evidence has emerged to support Hovde’s claims. So he now has at least two options: He can concede, which Baldwin’s campaign has asked him to do, or he can request a recount. Under Wisconsin law, a candidate can ask for a recount if the candidate is trailing the leading candidate by no more than 1% of the vote. But it must be requested no later than 5 p.m. on the third business day after county canvassers submit their results to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. This year, counties must do this by Nov. 19, two weeks after the election.  That gives Hovde at least a couple more days to decide how he’ll proceed. In a video he posted Tuesday, he said “asking for a recount is a serious decision that requires careful consideration.” Meanwhile, Baldwin’s campaign has slammed Hovde for “sowing doubt about our very democracy.” Read more about why Hovde didn’t immediately concede. POST-ELECTION Pennsylvania Senate race remains tight, heads to recount Wisconsin isn’t the only swing state with a contested Senate race. In a match that’s even tighter than Hovde’s, the outcome of the Pennsylvania Senate race for Sen. Bob Casey’s seat is also in doubt, despite the AP calling it for Republican candidate Dave McCormick.  On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of State ordered a recount to be conducted in the race, since the margin is less than 0.5%, which triggers an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law — unless the trailing candidate waives it. The most recent vote totals show Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey has 48.5% of the vote and his Republican challenger David McCormick has 48.9%. According to the department, the results of the recount will be released on Nov. 27, leaving one of the most closely-watched races unresolved until the end of the month. Read more about the recount here. President-elect Donald Trump won both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and it appeared that McCormick won, too. But days after the election, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt (R) said there were at least 100,000 ballots “remaining to be adjudicated, including provisional, military, overseas, and Election Day votes.” On Tuesday, incumbent Sen. Casey said in a statement county election officials “will finish counting those votes, just like they do in every election.” As the recount gets underway, McCormick, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania on Wednesday sued the Bucks County Board of Elections, challenging the board’s decision to count 405 mail-in ballots submitted with undated or wrongly dated outer envelopes in the general election. In a second legal action, the RNC is asking the state’s highest court to block all 67 Pennsylvania county boards of elections from counting mail-in ballots with undated or wrongly dated envelopes. Read more about that lawsuit and how it can impact the current Senate race. CABINET PICKS Trump makes his pick for attorney general: Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz In a move that stunned Republicans and Democrats alike, Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate far-right Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general. The Trump loyalist would replace Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead the agency’s more than 100,000 employees. On X, Gaetz said it would be “an honor” to serve. If confirmed by the Senate, Gaetz would be the nation’s top legal officer. DOJ officials reacted in horror, according to NBC News. One official called the decision “insane” while another noted that the DOJ previously investigated Gaetz in connection with sex trafficking allegations. Gaetz was not charged.  “He is uniquely qualified,” one DOJ staffer said. “How many other prospective attorneys general had previous experience as the subject of a criminal investigation?” Trump has been clear on how he views the Justice Department — as an extension of his interests and agenda and not as an independent agency tasked with upholding the rule of law. Trump said in 2017, during the Mueller investigation, that he has the “absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department.” He famously clashed with his Attorney General Bill Barr when Barr said there was no election fraud in the 2020 race. A Trump advisor reportedly told a CNN reporter that Trump “is going to bring in somebody to burn down the DOJ from the inside and Matt is going to do that.” Read more about Trump’s selection of Gaetz here. FROM OUR DESK Trump’s Agenda 47 — What It Means for Democracy President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office next year. But you don’t have to wait until January to learn more about his vision and plan for the country. Read more about Agenda 47 here. While you’re at it, get up to speed on Project 2025, an ultraconservative agenda drafted by numerous former Trump administration officials and right-wing organizations.  NEW EPISODE Dissecting the Election and the Role of the Media with Molly Jong-Fast On Nov. 5, Trump swept the Electoral College and the popular vote. Marc Elias and Molly Jong-Fast discuss what happened, what they got wrong about the presidential race, the media’s role in the election and what happens now. You can watch it here. What We’re Doing After last week’s stunning election result, Democracy Docket case researcher and writer Kaei Li is seeking solace in the pages of a good book. She recently read “All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley.” The memoir is about a man who quits his unfulfilling job at the New Yorker and becomes a security guard at the Met after his beloved brother dies. Li couldn’t put it down. “Even though he was grieving a personal loss and we are processing a collective one, I found it equally therapeutic to be in a place where time stood still, surrounded by the most beautiful art in the world.”