Recount Possible in Fla. Gov. Race

Republican Ron DeSantis has a less than 0.5% lead.
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2018 5:30 PM CST
Recount Possible in Fla. Gov. Race
Andrew Gillum, left, and Ron DeSantis.   (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, Files)

After more or less conceding the Florida gubernatorial race to his Republican opponent, Democrat Andrew Gillum is now reportedly ready for a recount. On Wednesday, with tens of thousands of votes still uncounted, Gillum tweeted, “I’m looking forward to seeing every vote counted,” per the Tallahassee Democrat. Although, as NBC notes, he has not explicitly requested a recount, Gillum did say Thursday that his campaign is prepared for one. As of late afternoon local time, Republican Ron DeSantis held a lead of 38,613 votes, per the AP, which is a margin of 0.47%. If DeSantis’ lead remains below 0.5 percentage points when the first unofficial count is verified on Saturday, a mandatory recount will be triggered.

And state officials appear to be preparing for that possibility (a recount in a Florida Senate race also is anticipated). “The recounts will be nationally watched,” Secretary of State Ken Detzner reportedly told election supervisors during a morning conference call, adding that Florida will be “under a microscope.” Speaking via Facebook Live on Thursday, Gillum said, “This is extremely hard. But, you know what, the fight for progress, the fight for change, the fight for what it is we want, it’s hard." As for DeSantis, he told reporters, per the Tampa Bay Times, that he is “looking forward to serving,” adding, “we’ll let the lawyers do what they got to do, but we’re good. (The fate of Florida's racing dogs is unclear.)

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