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Democrat Andrew Gillum, who was seeking to become Florida's first black governor, conceded Saturday after a recount showing that he had no way of catching his Republican rival Ron DeSantis, the president's ally. Donald Trump.
Gillum, the 39-year-old liberal mayor of Tallahassee, had initially conceded the race to DeSantis, a former conservative congressman, on the night of Nov. 6. But Gillum subsequently withdrew the concession when the results showed that the two were close enough to trigger an automatic recount.
"It was the journey of our lives. We were so honored with the support we received, "Gillum said in a video statement. "Stay tuned, there will be others to come. This fight for Florida continues. "
DeSantis, 40, said Saturday on Twitter: "It was a hard-fought campaign. It is now time to reunite Florida. "
After an automatic count Thursday, official results showed that DeSantis had a lead of 33,683, or 0.41%. This margin seemed impossible to overcome for Gillum by Saturday.
"We wanted to make sure that every vote, including those who were under-voting or over-voting, as long as it was a legally-cast vote, we wanted those votes to be counted" said Gillum in his video statement on Saturday.
The count had seen Republicans, including President Donald Trump, claim unfounded widespread voter fraud.
His position echoed the similar calls of his colleague, American Democratic Senator Bill Nelson. Numerous court challenges have been filed in Florida about how to process certain ballots and the time limits for counties to consider.
Trump congratulated Gillum in a tweet on Saturday, describing it as a "force to be reckoned with" before Gillum's concession.
"Congratulations to Andrew Gillum for running a very tough and competitive race for the governor of the great state of Florida," tweeted Trump. "He will be a powerful Democratic warrior long into the future – a force to be reckoned with!"
A recount continues in the race between Nelson and his rival at the Senate seat, outgoing Republican governor Rick Scott. After an electronic recount on Thursday, Scott had a small lead. Officials have until Sunday noon to count the votes missed by electronic voting machines.
The recount was the subject of an intense political battle with Republicans, including Trump, claiming, without any proof, that the process was tainted by fraud.
Both parties and their supporters have filed numerous lawsuits to challenge the process. Republicans called for a strict standard on which votes were counted, while Democrats challenged rules they considered to be voters deprived of their rights.
The drama of the counties throughout the state of the polls recounting the votes recalled memories of the 2000 presidential count in Florida. In this election, the winner of the White House was suspended for weeks before the US Supreme Court ended the count and Republican George W. Bush triumphed the Democrat Al Gore.
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