UPDATE:
Florida Senator Marco Rubio warns of electoral shenanigans going on in Broward County. According to Rubio, Democrats are trying to overturn both GOP victories by rigging the vote total
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
#Broward supervisor:
– says she doesn’t know how many ballots are left to be counted; &
– Isn’t reporting hourly or regularly,but rather releasing thousands of additional votes,often in the overnight hours,that are chipping away at GOP leads2/6 #Sayfie
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
#Broward elections department has a history of violating the law:
A court found they improperly handled votes by mail:https://t.co/NOE6qdbWly
Court found they destroyed ballots in 2016 in violation of state & federal law:https://t.co/ywP8qE46J5 #Sayfie
3/6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
Now democrat lawyers are descending on #Florida. They have been very clear they aren’t here to make sure every vote is counted.
– They are here to change the results of election; &
– #Broward is where they plan to do it.#Sayfie4/6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
A U.S. Senate seat & a statewide cabinet officer are now potentially in the hands of an elections supervisor with a history of incompetence & of blatant violations of state & federal laws.
Read Here: https://t.co/empQvOOgEb
5/6#Sayfie
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
#Broward election supervisors ongoing violation of #Florida law requiring timely reporting isn’t just annoying incompetence. It has opened the door for lawyers to come here & try to steal a seat in the U.S. Senate & Florida Cabinet
#Sayfie6/6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
Original article:
Senator Bill Nelson must be over the moon if he thinks this is going to work. He’s a few stars short of a galaxy in demanding a recount in the race he just lost to Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Florida stays red (for now) in midterms
Last night, the Democrats’ overall victory was tempered in Florida, where Republicans not only held the governor’s mansion with Ron DeSantis’s victory over popular socialist candidate Andrew Gillum, but they also picked off a Senate seat, ousting former astronaut Bill Nelson. (RELATED: Live Updates: 2018 Midterm Results.)
The failure in left Democrats smarting, as the Democrat candidates held favorable polling leads heading into election day. But, as the old saw goes, the only poll that actually matters is the election. And Florida voters sent spaceman Nelson back down to earth.
Republican Rick Scott wins Florida U.S. Senate seat: Fox News https://t.co/umTGq6kruQ pic.twitter.com/UPd0ExY0J2
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) November 7, 2018
Governor Rick Scott is soon to be SENATOR Rick Scott!
My 18-year-long dream of replacing Bill Nelson has finally come true! @ScottforFlorida has earned the trust of Florida voters and will be an incredible addition to the U.S. Senate.
Thank you Florida voters! #ElectionNight
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) November 7, 2018
The Florida Senate race isn’t over, though
But, it may not be completely over. Nelson is contesting the final outcome, and is pulling an Al Gore. That’s right: he’s demanding a recount:
Break: Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL): “We are proceeding to a recount.” Current result less than half a percent. @marceelias representing him as he seeks to overturn Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) lead.
— Zach C. Cohen (@Zachary_Cohen) November 7, 2018
From CBS in Miami:
Despite Governor Rick Scott declaring victory, the Senate race is too close to call as of early Wednesday morning and is heading to a recount, according to Senator Bill Nelson’s office.
Unofficial results show Nelson narrowly trailing Scott by a little more than just 34,500 votes out of a total of 8.1 million ballots cast, according to the Senator’s office. That’s less than a one-half percentage point difference.
State law requires a recount when candidates are within one-half point.
Given that the GOP only increased its slim majority in the Senate by a few seats, it would be devastating for the Republicans to cede this seat. But the numbers are close enough by current estimations to warrant it.
Florida shows that every vote counts
One thing this shows, however, is just how competitive Florida was. It really did come down to the wire, with Scott just eking out a temporary victory. Floridians can be rest assured their vote wasn’t taken for granted. Not every voting American say that.
Now, we have to wait and see what Florida’s electoral officials say.