The 2020 election between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden is proving to be much more of a nail biter than most polls predicted.
With multiple pathways to victory for Biden, Trump and his campaign are pulling out all the stops to contest the results. Trump falsely declared a victory in the early hours of November 4 and vowed to take the issue to the Supreme Court, though it's unclear what grounds he would have to convince the nation's highest court not to count votes.
In addition to tweeting lies about the Democratic process, Trump and his campaign officials will demand a recount in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin, which Trump narrowly won in 2016. With nearly all precincts in Wisconsin reporting, Biden maintains a lead of 20 thousand votes, leading CNN and MSNBC to call the state in his favor.
Because Trump is behind Biden by less than one percentage point, the Trump campaign has said it will demand the recount to which it's entitled under Wisconsin law. However, it's unlikely that will change Trump's prognosis in the state.
The Republican former Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, used the past instances of recounts in Wisconsin to show why.
After recount in 2011 race for WI Supreme Court, there was a swing of 300 votes. After recount in 2016 Presidential race in WI, @realDonaldTrump numbers went up by 131.
As I said, 20,000 is a high hurdle. #Election2020 https://t.co/CEr82eiCWH
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) November 4, 2020
Walker noted that recounts in Wisconsin have historically swung votes by the hundreds, not the tens of thousands Trump would need to swing the state back in its favor.
While anything can still happen as far as the electoral vote winner, Walker's reminder gave some reason to hope.
Never thought I'd say this ... but listen to Scott Walker https://t.co/fGI2tqfCZ8
— Sabrina Singh (@sabrinasingh24) November 4, 2020
Credit due to @ScottWalker for being straight forward about impact of a recount. https://t.co/3vewim09tN
— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) November 4, 2020
Here in Wisconsin, Trump's goose looks cooked.
Even if there's a recount - as Scott Walker(!) points out - it'll be very hard for Trump to make up the balance. https://t.co/CRF3BazZOc
— Josh Orton (@joshorton) November 4, 2020
Former (very-Republican) Governor of #Wisconsin pours a whole lot of water on idea of any recount altering the outcome.👇
In short, the outcome (no matter how many times you recount the vote): Biden victory. https://t.co/9QRN2inmL3
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) November 4, 2020
Trump Campaign is calling for a recount in Wisconsin — according to former WI Governor Scott Walker, Biden will still win the state. https://t.co/ExWHNDgSkZ
— Sunny Hostin (@sunny) November 4, 2020
Scott Walker casting doubt on the value of Trump asking for a recount in WI is a big deal.
To the extent this resembles an information war, Trump wants a narrative that states like WI were his but somehow changed unfairly. Walker undermines that, properly treating result as legit https://t.co/xYPcsOcdPf
— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) November 4, 2020
People are still preparing for the havoc of Trump and his allies' desperation for a second term.
Biden is going to win.
Trump is going to put us through a horror show.
But Biden is going to win. https://t.co/pVoQsAKBUv
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) November 4, 2020
Trump's on the ropes but he's going to fight this endgame ferociously. Anyone who thinks this election is over is living in cloud cuckoo land.
Prepare for weeks of mayhem.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 4, 2020
This is vile. These fabricated accusations aren't going to alter the result of the election, they're just going to leave a big chunk of Trump's base deceived and angry. Whatever follows from that is squarely on the heads of those promulgating this rhetoric. https://t.co/VG8VvYkLOp
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) November 4, 2020
Wisconsin has significantly narrowed Trump's pathways to victory.
