TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - With margins steadily shrinking, the Florida governor's race is now within the legally required recount margin.
As of Thursday at 2:40 p.m., unofficial results show DeSantis leads Gillum by 38,515 out of just over 8.2 million cast, or a difference of 0.469 of a percentage point.
I could tell many at the @AndrewGillum watch party were hoping he wouldn’t concede that night, because it was so close. Now, it looks like that race will go to a recount. @abc27 #FloridaRecount
— Stephen Jiwanmall (@SteveJiwanmall) November 8, 2018
Florida law requires a recount in races in which the winning margin is 0.5 percent or less, unless the trailing candidate says in writing that he or she doesn't want a recount, according to AP.
Gillum took to Facebook soon after the news broke:
His campaign sent a statement Thursday saying they're prepared for a recount, despite the fact that Gillum conceded to DeSantis on Tuesday night:
"On Tuesday night, the Gillum for Governor campaign operated with the best information available about the number of outstanding ballots left to count. Since that time, it has become clear there are many more uncounted ballots than was originally reported. Our campaign, along with our attorney Barry Richard, is monitoring the situation closely and is ready for any outcome, including a state-mandated recount. Mayor Gillum started his campaign for the people, and we are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted."
A recount is also anticipated in the U.S. Senate race between Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Bill Nelson.
Senator Marco Rubio took to Twitter on Thursday to accuse the Broward County elections supervisor of trying to "change to results of [the] election."
Long but IMPORTANT THREAT ON ELECTIONS IN #FLORIDA.#BayCounty was hit by a Cat 4 Hurricane just 4 weeks ago,yet managed to count votes & submit timely results.Yet over 41 hours after polls closed #Broward elections office is still counting votes? #Sayfie 1/6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
New York Times reports that Florida’s 67 counties have until noon on Saturday to submit their unofficial vote totals to the state’s division of elections.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Democrat Andrew Gillum’s campaign now says it’s prepared for a possible recount in the Florida governor race that he conceded to Republican Ron DeSantis on Tuesday night.
In a statement Thursday, Gillum's campaign says it underestimated the ballots that still needed to be counted when he conceded.
The campaign says it's monitoring the situation and preparing for a possible state-mandated recount.
Florida law requires a recount in races in which the winning margin is 0.5 percent or less, unless the trailing candidate says in writing that he or she doesn't want a recount. Canvassing boards conduct the recount by running ballots through vote tabulation machines.
As of Wednesday morning, DeSantis led Gillum by 43,039 votes out of nearly 8.2 million cast, or a difference of 0.526 of a percentage point.
Gillum campaign releases statement on possible recount in governor's race
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Andrew Gillum for Governor Campaign released a statement on the tightening result in the Florida's governor race, which could result in a recount.
Gillum for Governor Communications Director, Johanna Cervone, made the following statement on Thursday:
"On Tuesday night, the Gillum for Governor campaign operated with the best information available about the number of outstanding ballots left to count. Since that time, it has become clear there are many more uncounted ballots than was originally reported. Our campaign, along with our attorney Barry Richard, is monitoring the situation closely and is ready for any outcome, including a state-mandated recount. Mayor Gillum started his campaign for the people, and we are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted."
Gillum conceded to his opponent, Ron DeSantis, on Tuesday night.
