PEWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) 鈥� As the first news outlets began calling for the liberal candidate , her opponent called her 鈥� to concede.
Minutes later Tuesday night, the conservative-backed Brad Schimel took the stage at his watch party to acknowledge the loss. Angry yells broke out. One woman began to chant about his opponent: 鈥淐heater.鈥�
Schimel didn't hesitate. 鈥淣o,鈥� he responded. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to accept the results.鈥� Later, he returned to the stage with his classic rock cover band to jam on his bass.
In any other American era, Schimel鈥檚 concession wouldn鈥檛 be considered unusual 鈥� except maybe the guitar part. But it stands out at a time when the nation's politics have opened a fissure between those who trust election results and those who don鈥檛.
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be super laudable,鈥� said Jeff Mandell, general counsel of the Madison-based liberal law firm Law Forward. 鈥淏ut given where we are and given what we鈥檝e seen over the past few years nationwide and in Wisconsin, it is laudable.鈥�
Accusations of cheating are common now
Over the past several years, numerous Republicans 鈥� and some Democrats 鈥� have , and pointed to 鈥渋rregularities鈥� to . President Donald Trump led that movement in 2020, when he filed lawsuits in battleground states, including one , seeking to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Schimel鈥檚 concession of that very same court to a liberal majority, though in line with what generations of candidates have done in the past, was not a given in today鈥檚 divisive atmosphere.
Onstage, as his supporters yelled, Schimel shook his head and left no uncertainty he鈥檇 lost 鈥� a result that would become even clearer later in the night as to around 10 percentage points.
鈥淭he numbers aren鈥檛 going to 鈥� aren鈥檛 going to turn around,鈥� he told the crowd. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e too bad, and we鈥檙e not going to pull this off.鈥�
By acknowledging his loss quickly, Schimel curtailed the kind of explanation-seeking and digital digging that erupted online after Trump, a Republican, lost the 2020 presidential election, with citizen journalists falsely accusing innocent and of fraud.
Schimel also avoided the impulses to which many in his party have defaulted in recent elections across the country, as they've dragged their feet to avoid accepting defeat.
Last fall, Wisconsin Republican Eric Hovde spent days sowing doubt in the results after he lost a Senate race to Democrat Tammy Baldwin. nearly two weeks after Election Day, saying he did not want to 鈥渁dd to political strife through a contentious recount鈥� even as he raised .
In a 2024 state Supreme Court race in , two recounts have affirmed Democrat Allison Riggs narrowly won the election, but her Republican opponent, Jefferson Griffin, is by having ballots thrown out.
Trump also has continued to falsely claim he won the 2020 presidential election, even though there was no evidence of widespread fraud and the results were confirmed through multiple , and . His close adviser, billionaire Elon Musk, has also spread a flurry of unfounded claims about voter fraud involving noncitizens.
Musk and his affiliated groups sank at least $21 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and he personally paid three voters $1 million each for signing a petition to boost turnout. He had said the race was central to the 鈥渇uture of America and Western civilization.鈥�
But after the results came in, he said he 鈥渆xpected to lose鈥� and touted the successful passage of a voter ID amendment in Wisconsin鈥檚 Constitution. Trump, who had endorsed Schimel, didn鈥檛 post about the loss but used his Truth Social platform to celebrate the voter ID win.
An assessment: 鈥楾hat鈥檚 democracy'
Not all Republicans watching the race were in a magnanimous mood as they processed the results. Peter Bernegger, the head of an election integrity organization who has brought numerous lawsuits against Wisconsin election clerks and offices, raised the specter that an 鈥渁lgorithm鈥� was behind Crawford鈥檚 win. InfoWars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones reacted to the results on X, saying, 鈥淓lection fraud should be investigated."
But at Schimel鈥檚 watch party, several supporters applauded his high road.
鈥淗e was all class,鈥� said Russell Jones, a 51-year-old attorney. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how you lose.鈥�
Adam Manka, of the La Crosse County Republican Party, said he worries about how a liberal court could redraw the state鈥檚 congressional districts. 鈥淏ut you can鈥檛 exactly change it,鈥� Manka said, calling Schimel 鈥渧ery graceful鈥� in his defeat. 鈥淭his is democracy.鈥�
Crawford, in an interview Wednesday, said Schimel's phone call was "the way elections should conclude鈥� and said she would have done the same thing if she had lost.
The moment is a good example for future candidates, said Ari Mittleman, executive director of the Wisconsin-based nonprofit , which aims to rebuild trust and confidence in elections. He compared elections to a Green Bay Packers football game: 鈥淲e know who won, we know who lost.鈥� He said he thinks Schimel, a lifelong Wisconsinite, understands that.
鈥淚t鈥檚 transparent, and we accept the final score,鈥� Mittleman said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 democracy.鈥�
Schimel and his band, performing for a thinning crowd Tuesday night, took the loss in stride.
鈥淐an you ask them at the bar to get me a Coors Light please?鈥� Schimel said between songs. 鈥淧ut it on my tab.鈥�
___
This story has been updated to correct the name of Jeff Mandell, previously misspelled as Mandel.
___
Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed from Madison, Wis. Swenson reported from New York. The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about the AP鈥檚 democracy initiative . The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Ali Swenson And Christine Fernando, The Associated Press
