Trump campaign vows to request recount in Wisconsin


Wisconsin isn't yet called, but President Trump's team is ready to go on the offensive.
Trump's campaign team vowed to make an official request for a Wisconsin recount "immediately," The Wall Street Journal reports. With all the votes counted, Wisconsin officials said on Wednesday that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had pulled ahead in the battleground state Trump won in 2016. Biden leads 49.4 percent to Trump's 48.8 percent, or by about 20,000 votes, a margin slim enough to qualify for a recount, if the narrow lead holds through the certification process.
"The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so," Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said, citing without evidence the notion that "irregularities" in some Wisconsin counties call "the validity" of the count into question.
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A candidate trailing by less than 1 percent of the winner can request a recount, and Trump's campaign would have to pay about $3 million to cover the costs associated with a recount unless the margin is a quarter of a percentage point or less.
When asked about a potential recount earlier on Wednesday, Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said "we are going to win Wisconsin, recount or no recount," reports The Hill.
The Trump campaign must wait until 10 days after Election Day to officially request a recount,
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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