Some of the lawyers from the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential race are assembling again almost two decades later, this time to sort out three uncalled races from the 2018 midterm elections.
Ballots cast for Florida’s senator, governor, and state agriculture commission are expected to be tallied again, though the Florida secretary of state will decide whether that prospect becomes a reality on Saturday afternoon after unofficial vote returns are submitted.
Over the course of the last three days, margins in the Senate race between Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Gov. Rick Scott have narrowed, as have the vote tallies in the race for the governor’s mansion between Democrat Andrew Gillum, mayor of Tallahassee, and Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis, and the contest for state agriculture commissioner between Democrat Nikki Fried and Republican Matt Caldwell.
All eyes have fallen on the Democratic strongholds of Broward and Palm Beach counties, where election officials are still counting votes. And as the margins tighten, the candidates in the three races are amassing their armies of lawyers, including veterans of the 2000 presidential recount between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George Bush.
President Trump also indicated he is prepared to jump in on the action, tweeting that he is sending lawyers to Florida, though he did not specify who, and telling reporters there could be a role for the federal government in the likely recount.
Here are three familiar faces from 2000 tapped for fight over the 2018 election:
William Scherer
Scherer, a lawyer based in Fort Lauderale, has signed on to Scott’s legal team to help with the expected manual recount, according to reports. Scherer represented Bush during the Florida recount in 2000, as well as the recount in Broward County then, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Barry Richard
Richard was also among the attorneys representing Bush in 2000 and served as his lead trial attorney.
But this go around, Richard is representing Gillum, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Gillum conceded the race Tuesday, but later seemed to backtrack by stressing the importance of “counting every vote.” And since then, DeSantis’s lead has shrunk, likely triggering a machine recount.
Mitchell Berger
Berger, a friend of Gore’s and the former vice president’s top fundraiser in Florida, served as one of Gore’s lawyers in 2000.
He has joined the legal team for the state’s Democratic Party, according to reports.
