PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Election day has come and gone, though some ballots across the country are still being counted. In many cases, however, candidates have called to concede races acknowledging their opponent has won.
This includes Republican candidate Mehmet Oz calling John Fetterman to concede Pennsylvania's Senate race.
However, Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano did not make the same acknowledgment to now Governor-elect Josh Shapiro.
THE QUESTION
Does one candidate have to concede to another for a race to be over?
THE SOURCES
The National Conference of State Legislators and Dr. Stephen Medvic, professor of government at Franklin And Marshall College.
WHAT WE FOUND
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a race is over when "election administrators complete their post-election activities and the election results are certified.”
“It's the certification process that all of the local county election boards go through," Dr. Medvic said. "Then once they've done that the election can be declared official. It's certified at that point."
Even after races are called, there are state and local deadlines to submit petitions for recounts or recanvassing. Then, a candidate may choose to go through the legal system to challenge results.
"So those go through a normal process of [making] the challenge. It goes to a court, the court decides whether some violation has taken place or not," Dr. Medvic said. "But once they've run out of those challenges, that's when the elections are our official."
Such was the case in 2000, when Al Gore’s concession speech to George Bush came five weeks after the election. The Supreme Court stopped a recount of Florida’s presidential election following challenges from the Gore campaign.
So no, one candidate does not have to concede to another for a race to be over.
Then what is the point of a concession speech?
"The candidate that loses a race says, 'I've lost and the opponent has won legitimately, and they have every right to take office,'" Dr. Medvic said. "If they don't do that it doesn't stop the winner from taking office. It's just that it's kind of a nice courtesy that says, 'We played fair, they won, I concede.'"
State Senator Mastriano is not the only candidate not to concede a race, and it’s becoming increasingly more common.
In 2018, Stacy Abrams did not concede Georgia’s governor’s race.
And more recently in 2020, then-President Donald Trump did not concede to President-elect Joe Biden, becoming the first U.S. President to skimp out on the tradition.