Florida Senate race thrown into confusion as Democrat Bill Nelson REFUSES to concede to Republican Rick Scott as vote margins narrows close enough to trigger recount
Republican Florida Gov. Rock Scott led by less than half a percentage point: about 34,435 votes out of more than 8 million cast
Florida election law requires an automatic recount where the margin is less than .05 percent. That number would work out to 40,276
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson will address the media on Wednesday
Floridians will likely have two Republican senators for the first time since the end of the 19th Century
By DAVID MARTOSKO
DAILYMAIL.COM
7 November 2018
Floridians went to bed Tuesday without knowing whether Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson had held on to his seat or lost to Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
Scott led by less than half a percentage point with nearly all votes counted: leading by about 34,435 votes out of more than 8 million cast.
The margin, if it sticks, would trigger a mandatory recount in the state.
The razor thin margin means every possible vote becomes critical, including overseas and military ballots, provisional ballots and vote by mail ballots that have defects such as a missing or non-matching signature.
But experts don’t expect a recount the likes of the 2000 presidential election, when teams for George W. Bush and Al Gore fought over every hanging chad.
Confusion reigned throughout the night as votes were tallied.
Scott, who dropped $50 million of his own funds in the contest, claimed victory just before midnight.
It’s just hard to believe that we’re here now,’ he said. ‘Now that this campaign is behind us that’s where we’re going to leave it.’
However, the Associated Press had not called the race as of Wednesday morning.
There was a belief Nelson conceded to his GOP rival, but the campaign put out a statement in the early morning hours clarifying that Nelson was still waiting for all the ballots to be counted.
Nelson is expected to address the media on Wednesday.
The Rest…HERE
