Scott, DeSantis, Fried lead going into recounts

Author: The News Service of Florida
Published: Updated:
Voting
(Credit: CBS News)

SCOTT LEAD UNDER 15,000 VOTES AS RECOUNT NEARS

With a noon deadline Saturday for counties to report unofficial results from Tuesday’s elections, Republican Gov. Rick Scott led Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson by fewer than 15,000 votes, according to numbers posted on the state Division of Elections website. Scott, who is seeking to unseat Nelson, had 4,095,771 votes, while the incumbent senator had 4,080,923 as of 10 a.m. Saturday. With a total of 8,176,694 votes tallied, Scott had 50.09 percent, and Nelson had 49.91 percent. The narrow margin is almost certain to trigger an automatic machine recount after the reporting deadline. Such a recount is required when the difference between candidates is 0.5 percent or less.

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DESANTIS MAINTAINS 36,000-VOTE LEAD IN GOVERNOR’S RACE

Though the race appears headed to a recount, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis continues to lead Democrat Andrew Gillum by about 36,000 votes, according to numbers posted on the state Division of Elections website. As of 10 a.m. Saturday, the numbers showed DeSantis with 4,073,763 votes, while Gillum had 4,037,761. Overall, 8,211,967 votes had been tallied in the race, with unaffiliated and third-party candidates receiving small numbers. As of 10 a.m., DeSantis had 49.61 percent of the vote, while Gillum had 49.17 percent. State law requires a machine recount if the margin is 0.5 percent or less. Counties are required by noon Saturday to submit unofficial results to the state, leading to a decision about whether a recount is needed.

MORE: Breaking down Lee County’s provisional ballots

FRIED HOLDS NARROW LEAD GOING INTO RECOUNT

Nikki Fried, the Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner, led Republican Matt Caldwell by more than 3,000 votes as a recount neared in their race for the Cabinet seat, according to numbers posted on the state Division of Elections website. As of 10 a.m. Saturday, Fried had 4,025,824 votes, while Caldwell had 4,022,704. In all, 8,048,528 votes had been tallied, with Fried receiving 50.02 percent and Caldwell receiving 49.98 percent, according to the website. Machine recounts are triggered when the margin between candidates is 0.5 percent or less. Counties are required to submit unofficial results from Tuesday’s elections by a noon deadline Saturday.

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