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FL-Gov: Governor's race in Florida could be heading for a recount
Tallahassee mayor and Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, with his 1-year-old son Davis, walks out after casting his ballot on Tuesday in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida's gubernatorial race might be headed for a recount. (Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)

FL-Gov: Governor's race in Florida could be heading for a recount

Although the Republican candidate was declared the victor on Tuesday night, the governor's race in Florida appears close to a recount.

Here's what we know

According to CNN, Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis now holds a slim lead of only half a percentage point (49.6 percent to 49.1 percent) over his Democratic opponent Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. In Florida, a margin of half a percentage point or less would trigger an automatic recount.

Meanwhile, the race for U.S. Senate in Florida has narrowed so much that it could trigger a recount by hand. Republican Gov. Rick Scott currently holds a 0.26 percentage point lead (50.1 percent to 49.9 percent) over incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. A margin of 0.25 or less would trigger a hand recount.

The official notice for a recount in either race would come from Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, a Scott appointee.

Nelson has already hired a lawyer experienced with election recounts. Scott has accused him of trying to “steal” the election.

“It is sad and embarrassing that Bill Nelson would resort to these low tactics after the voters have clearly spoken,” Scott's campaign said in a statement.

While Nelson never conceded defeat to Scott, Gillum had initially conceded the governor's race. Now his campaign says that it's leaving the option open to hold a recount. In a statement, Gillum spokeswoman Johanna Cervone said:

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.

On Wednesday evening, Gillum tweeted that he was “looking forward to seeing every vote counted.” On Thursday, he tweeted, “Every voice must be heard in this race!” and encouraged people who had submitted provisional ballots to contact their local county supervisor of elections.

What else?

It's not unprecedented for a political candidate to concede an election and then take back that concession. In 2000, former Vice President Al Gore conceded the race to former President George W. Bush on election night — only to rescind that concession later on when the nation entered a monthlong recount process to determine who the next president would be.

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