Fla. Senator Calls for Recount, Opponent Calls Move 'Sad'

Republican Rick Scott declared himself the victor in Tuesday's Florida race for a US Senate seat, but it looks like people may have to bite their nails on this one a little longer. Politico reports that the team of his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, sent out an early morning statement noting the vote tally was "not the result Senator Nelson and his campaign had worked so hard for." But the campaign also said that statement didn't mean Nelson was conceding, and later Wednesday morning came another statement from Nelson's camp: "We are proceeding to a recount."

Per WESH, Scott's lead was 38,717 votes out of more than 8 million cast—which comes out to a margin that's less than one-half of 1%. In Florida, once the margin dips below that benchmark, a recount is automatically triggered. State officials will reportedly order the recount on Saturday. Scott, currently the governor of Florida, reacted via his spokesman, per Politico: "This race is over. It's a sad way for Bill Nelson to end his career. He is desperately trying to hold onto something that no longer exists." (More Election 2018 stories.)