The Democrat in the race for Florida governor, Andrew Gillum, is banking on a recount to save his campaign after he conceded to former GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis on election night.
In a statement Thursday, Gillum’s campaign said it is “ready for any outcome,” referring to uncounted ballots, which in a close enough race could trigger a recount.
“On Tuesday night, the Gillum for Governor campaign operated with the best information available about the number of outstanding ballots left to count,” Gillum campaign communications director Johanna Cervone said in a statement. “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. Mayor Gillum started his campaign for the people, and we are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted.”
As of Thursday, Gillum trails DeSantis by approximately 43,000 votes. The New York Times reports that DeSantis received approximately 0.6 percent more votes than Gillum, while the Orlando Sentinel reports the margin is only 0.52 percent.
According to Florida law, a machine recount is required if one candidate has a 0.5 percent lead over another candidate.
Florida is already poised for a recount for its U.S. Senate race, after Republican Rick Scott claimed victory over incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson. But Nelson said Wednesday that his campaign is “proceeding to a recount.” The margin between Nelson and Scott is approximately 0.26 percent, as of Thursday.
Gillum is the first black nominee for Florida governor and would be Florida’s first black governor if elected. During his concession speech on Tuesday, he praised his campaign and said he believes “in the long run, good always wins out over evil.”
[Bernie Sanders: ‘White folks’ may have felt too ‘uncomfortable’ to vote for black candidates]
DeSantis was accused of racism after he urged voters not to “monkey this up” by supporting Gillum. DeSantis’ team said the comment was not a reference to race, but rather wad intended to encourage voters not to make the “wrong decision to embrace the socialist policies that Andrew Gillum espouses.”
Gillum also came under scrutiny just before the election after documents originally requested by the Florida Commission on Ethics were released, showing Gillum accepted a ticket to see “Hamilton” from an undercover FBI agent during a trip to New York, although he claimed he received the ticket from his brother. The FBI has been examining corruption in Tallahassee.
Although the statements appear to be at odds with one another, Gillum said that the documents “vindicate and add more evidence that at every turn I was paying my own way or was with my family, for all trips, including picking up tickets from my brother, Marcus, who was with a group of his own friends.”
