Florida Senate Race Headed Toward Recount

The closely contested Florida Senate race between incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott (R) will likely head to a recount as soon as Wednesday.

According to unofficial results from the state’s division of elections, Scott leads Nelson by only 0.42 percent, enough to trigger a recount.

With his narrow lead, Scott claimed victory late Tuesday night , though The Associated Press had not officially called the race.

Nelson did not make remarks at his election night party Tuesday night. His campaign manager had said that the senator “will be making a full statement” on Wednesday to thank his campaign.

But on Wednesday morning, Nelson issued a statement saying that he does not plan to concede. “We are proceeding to a recount,” he said.

Under Florida law, if the unofficial results show a margin of 0.5 percent or less, the race heads to a machine recount, ordered by the secretary of state. If the machine recount results show a margin of 0.25 percent or less, the race would then head to a manual recount, which could take weeks.

Florida is no stranger to recounts. The infamous 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore came down to multiple contested recounts in the state, leading to a Supreme Court decision declaring Bush the winner.