Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott appears to have secured a U.S. Senate seat by a margin of 10,000 votes over his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, after a manual recount, state officials announced Sunday.
In the recount of the ballots cast for the Nov. 6 election, Scott won by 10,033 votes, Florida elections officials said Sunday. Scott took 50.05 percent of the 8.19 million votes cast statewide, compared with 49.93 percent for Nelson, the officials added.
Sunday’s official results posted by the state followed legally required hand and machine recounts. State officials will certify the final totals Tuesday.
Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson “graciously conceded” their Senate race shortly after the state’s recount ended. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday.
The defeat ends Nelson’s lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years.
The battle between Nelson and Scott and the race to replace Scott as governor both were closely watched contests in which Democrats had hoped to topple Republicans. On Saturday, Democrat Andrew Gillum conceded to Republican rival Ron DeSantis, an ally of Trump, in the governor’s race, which also went to a recount.
