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Democrat Andrew Gillum withdrew his concession Saturday in the Florida gubernatorial race after Florida election official ordered the recount as required by Florida law for any election that falls between a half a percentage point.
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The progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum, had conceded the Florida gubernatorial race the day after the U.S. midterm elections last week after it appeared he had lost by a slim margin to Republican Ron DeSantis. Further counting of ballots brought the race even closer and pushed it into the threshold for a mandatory recount.
“I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call that we count every single vote,” Gillum said at a press conference in Tallahassee Saturday.
Florida has had a history of very tight races, as well as tense recounts, the most famous of which being the 2000 presidential elections between Al Gore and George W. Bush, which, even after a recount, was too close to call and went all the way to the Supreme Court. Ultimately, Bush won the election based on the last official recount giving him 537 more votes than Gore.
The process will be closely watched by both sides, but will be also politically fraught, with all sides trying to win public approval and putting pressure on the other to concede. Indeed, President Donald Trump has already jumped into the fray with his tweets:
What’s embarrassing to democracy is not counting every vote — and you, of course.
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) November 9, 2018
Count every vote. https://t.co/ZfrBBcymrg
The race for Florida Senate has also fallen into recount territory, with Democrat Bill Nelson having a very slight lead over former Florida Governor, Republican, Rick Scott. The former governor has made angry claims of an "unethical liberal plot" to sway the elections in Nelson's favor, including going so far as to sue two Florida counties.
The results of the official election recount are due by Thursday, Nov. 15.
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