MADISON, Wis. — Election denial and fraud claims were harder to find in Wisconsin concession speeches after the 2026 midterms, marking a shift in tone from the politics that followed the 2020 election.
Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin said the change stood out to him.
“I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed that, because it really did strike me that we didn’t hear election denial,” Franklin said.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Political Science Professor Mordecai Lee said that style of politics became more common after 2020. He pointed to how Republicans in the Legislature responded at the time.
“Republicans in the Legislature were largely willing to go along with that, and, in fact, appointed a special investigator to investigate,” Lee said.
But last week, the tone from Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., a candidate for governor, was different when he took the stage. Tiffany had previously supported President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss in Wisconsin.
“We’re going to be magnanimous tonight,” Tiffany said.
Tiffany also took responsibility for the outcome of his race.
“The responsibility for this race and us not winning as Republicans falls on me,” Tiffany said. “I did not deliver the message clearly enough.”
Franklin said Republican candidates may be distancing themselves from Trump’s approach to election losses.
“I think maybe this is a reflection of deciding that President Trump’s style of denying election outcomes and, you know, brutalizing your opponent sort of gives the impression that a lot of candidates this year, especially Republican candidates, decided maybe that’s not the best image for them or for their party,” Franklin said.
Similar moments played out elsewhere in Wisconsin. One Assembly representative met with an opponent for a congratulatory coffee.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., also emphasized a smooth transition.
“I wish Rebecca Cooke the absolute very, very best and if she needs any help, my staff will be at her beck and call to make sure that we have a smooth transition, because this has never been about me,” Van Orden said.
Lee described the shift as a return to “Wisconsin Nice.”
“We saw them revert back to Wisconsin Nice,” Lee said. “In other words, you run an election. You do your best. You put your best foot forward. You criticize your opponent as much as you can. You win sometimes; you lose sometimes.”
Data from the States United Democracy Center ahead of the 2022 midterms also suggested election denial carried political risk. Its surveys found that 43% of voters across four states said they would be less likely to vote for a so-called “election denier.”
Among independents, 34% said they would be less likely to vote for an election denier, according to the surveys.