# Concede and win?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concede-and-win/379763>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 9, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concede-and-win/379763 "2006-11-09T20:56:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concede-and-win/379763/1 "2006-11-09T20:56:10Z")

</div>

If a person running for office concedes the election because he sees defeat, can he say ‘never mind’ if the final vote tally goes to him, or does conceding end it all?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concede-and-win/379763/2 "2006-11-09T21:00:14Z")

</div>

Nope. Conceding does not mean you are out of it. If you concede and then win anyway it may be a bit embarassing but you still won.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concede-and-win/379763/3 "2006-11-09T21:01:59Z")

</div>

Concession has no legal meaning. You may recall a certain candidate in the 2000 presidential election who withdrew his concession in the middle of the night.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concede-and-win/379763/4 "2006-11-10T00:12:25Z")

</div>

Concession in and of itself has no legal meaning, but it does mean that no further legal steps will be taken to challenge.

In practice, concession means “I am letting the counting process take its own course and I will not instigate a recount or mount a legal challenge.” That’s not the same thing as saying that the election process has no affect.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concede-and-win/379763/5 "2006-11-10T03:18:06Z")

</div>

I believe the only candidate for major office to _publicly_ concede and later win was [James A. Rhodes](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/11/175255/42), who conceded the 1974 Ohio governor’s race to John Gilligan based on erroneous TV projections, but eventually won by 11,000 votes.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concede-and-win/379763/6 "2006-11-10T03:43:57Z")

</div>

The unasked question is, “Then why do loser concede? Why just they don’t let the count speak for itself?” The answer is that it is just a gracious thing to do when loss looks inevitable. You look a lot better conceding then waiting until the bitter end and just being the loser.

Conceding is just a face-saving gesture, which as repeated above, is in no way binding.