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On concede
Democrat
THE PHONE CALL
William Jennings Bryan started the modern habit by telegram in 1896: "We have submitted the issue to the American people and their will is law" 1. Kamala Harris conceded on November 6, 2024 2.
This week's log. Susan Collins: "It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine" 3. John Sununu: "it is not our night" 3. Ken Paxton said he would be "praying" for James Talarico 3. Mike Lawler called before 11 p.m. 4. Richard Hudson, chair of the House GOP's campaign arm: "I called to congratulate Richard Ojeda on his victory" 5. As of November 4 two Senate races stayed open. Scott Colom led Cindy Hyde-Smith by 43 votes at a 3 a.m. count, and Dan Sullivan said he was "confident when all the votes are counted" 46. That is a count finishing. There is no legal or constitutional need for any of these calls 1. The last one that did not come was followed by an attack on the Capitol 1.
Sources
- Bryan's 1896 telegram; "no legal or constitutional need"; Trump's January 7, 2021 condemnation of the Capitol attack after refusing to concede — Wikipedia, Concession (politics) ↑
- "Harris conceded victory to Trump on November 6" — Wikipedia, 2024 United States presidential election ↑
- Concessions by Collins, Sununu and Paxton, quoted — CBS News live coverage, 3–4 November 2026 ↑
- Lawler: "About 20 minutes ago, I called my opponent," just before 11 p.m. ET; Sullivan "confident when all the votes are counted" — NBC News live blog, 4 November 2026 ↑
- "I called to congratulate Richard Ojeda on his victory" — CBS News live coverage, 4 November 2026 ↑
- Colom 462,821, Hyde-Smith 462,778 as of 3 a.m. Wednesday, with about 95.6 percent tabulated; "We remain confident" — WLBT, 4 November 2026 ↑
Republican
CONCEDE
Give the waiting its due. A candidate may wait for a count. Al Gore phoned George W. Bush on November 8, 2000, took the call back when Florida tightened, and conceded on December 13 after the Supreme Court ruled 1. That is a loser with a count to finish.
The 2020 version came with a doctrine. The networks projected Biden the winner on November 7, six years ago today 2. On January 6, 2021, Trump stated the doctrine to a crowd: "We will never give up, we will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved" 3. There were more than 60 court cases 4. His January 7 statement pledged a smooth transition and admitted no defeat 1. Now the word is back in service. On election night he told the Times, "I am absolutely willing to accept those results" 5. He had no race to concede. The one he had reads never.
Sources
- Gore's retracted call and December 13 concession; Trump's refusal and his January 7, 2021 statement; "no legal or constitutional need" — Wikipedia, Concession (politics) ↑
- Major networks projected Biden the winner on November 7, 2020 — Wikipedia, 2020 United States presidential election ↑
- "We will never give up, we will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved" — transcript, NPR, 10 February 2021 ↑
- "There were over 60 court cases" — Campaign Legal Center ↑
- "I am absolutely willing to accept those results," to the New York Times on election night — TIME live coverage, 3 November 2026 ↑
“My brother-in-law and I played gin for thirty years. You lose, you say "good game," you push the cards over. No law says so. I looked. A concession, same thing, there's no legal or constitutional need for it. Collins called. Sununu said it was not their night. Paxton said he'd be praying. Sorry, one thing before you go. About this election he told the Times, "I am absolutely willing to accept those results." He wasn't running in this one. The one he ran in, he said "we will never concede." Which of those is the phone call?”— Lou
“Concede. One phone call. That's the whole technology. Bryan did it by telegram in 1896. This week Collins did it, Sununu did it, Paxton did it, and the chair of the House Republicans' entire campaign arm did it before the network got to the end of the sentence. Over sixty court cases and one man still can't find the phone. You know what he calls it? Theft. Nobody needs a word that big for losing unless the small word costs him something. There's no law behind a concession. It's manners. The whole republic runs on somebody picking up.”
“The president has accepted the results of an election in which he did not run, which I'd call a meaningful down payment on the one in which he did.”