Hovde concedes 12 days after Wisconsin Senate race call, blames Dem-recruited 3rd-party candidate

Hovde could have requested a recount, which he would have had to pay for himself, because his margin of defeat was less than 1 percentage point at about 29,000 votes, though he said he did not want to "add to political strife through a contentious recount."

The Republican candidate repeated claims in the video that he first made last week, saying there were "many troubling issues" related to absentee ballots in Milwaukee and when they were reported. Republicans, Democrats and nonpartisan election leaders all refuted the claims of impropriety Hovde made.

Hovde also repeated his complaint about the candidacy of Thomas Leager, who ran as a member of the America First Party. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.