Following the conclusion of most midterm elections on Tuesday night, several key states are still locked in post-midterms voter recount—with the Florida gubernatorial race between Ron DeSantis and Andrew Gillum heating up as the margins necessitating a voter recount become increasingly tighter, as NPR reports.
The Florida governor’s race has drawn national intrigue, especially after Democratic candidate Gillum mentioned Republican candidate DeSantis’ past collaborations with known racists during one of the final debates. Though the predictions favored Gillum’s victory, he eventually conceded Tuesday night after a tight race.
However, in the days since his concession, the margins of victory between DeSantis and Gillum have been lowering. According to NPR, as of 9:30 am on Friday, Gillum is only trailing DeSantis by 36,000 votes. In Florida, the threshold for a mandatory recount is a .5 percent difference—which is more than the difference separating the two candidates.Â
Mr. @FLGovScott — counting votes isn’t partisan — it’s democracy.
Count every vote.
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) November 9, 2018
Additionally, the battle for one of Florida’s Senate seats is headed for a mandatory recount as well. Rick Scott (R-FL), current governor of Florida, is currently only 15,000 votes ahead of Bill Nelson (D-FL), which is close to the .25 percent threshold necessary for a manual recount.
Most of the post-midterm focus is on Broward and Palm Beach counties, where votes are reportedly still being counted. These counties are also the focus of Governor Rick Scott’s claims that “unethical liberals are trying to steal this election.” Scott has moved forward with a lawsuit against the voting officials in these counties.
Despite Governor Scott’s claims, there is no evidence substantiating his accusations. However, President Trump has declared that he supports Scott, even without any evidence.
You mean they are just now finding votes in Florida and Georgia – but the Election was on Tuesday? Let’s blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018
Gillum has since stated that he is monitoring the situation, the Miami Herald reports, and is waiting until “every single vote can be counted.” The official decision on whether there will need to be vote recounts in the Florida gubernatorial and Senate races are projected to be announced Saturday afternoon.
As of 11:30am, Ron DeSantis leads Andrew Gillum by 36,150 votes, or 0.44%. At this time Thursday, his lead was 0.52%. pic.twitter.com/B4aV6IAFUm
— Frank Guzman (@fguzmanon7) November 9, 2018
The Florida races are not the only ones to watch—the contentious Georgia gubernatorial race has also not been officially called as of Friday afternoon, among other races in Arizona and Mississippi.
You can also follow live updates to the re-count via CBS News.