The heated Florida Senate race went into a mandatory voter recount, done both by a machine and by hand. The battle between Republican Governor Rick Scott and Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson had been so tight, with a margin of under 0.25 percent, the recount was required by law.
Ultimately, Scott led Nelson by more than 10,000 votes even in the recount. Now, Scott is the winner.
In a statement delivered by his campaign, Scott said:
"I just spoke with Senator Bill Nelson, who graciously conceded, and I thanked him for his years of public service. Now the campaign truly is behind us, and that’s where we need to leave it. We must do what Americans have always done: come together for the good of our state and our country.”
When results were still so close, Nelson’ s campaigned initially sued to have a recount in Palm Beach County of all ballots, and to extend the deadline across the entire state.
With Scott’s Florida victory, this is another Senate seat Republicans managed to flip in the midterms, alongside Missouri, Indiana, and North Dakota.
Nelson is expected to give a statement at 3 p.m. this Sunday.
UPDATE:
Nelson released a recorded video statement, viewable at his Twitter account: