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FILE PHOTO: Republican candidate in the US Senate Rick Scott is accompanied by his daughter Allison Guimard in his speech to supporters at his party's party night in Naples, Florida on November 6, 2018. REUTERS / Joe Skipper / Photo FileReuters
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) – Rick Scott, incumbent governor of Florida, was declared Sunday winner of his fierce race in the US Senate against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson, following a recount of ballots. , giving Republicans control of both Senate seats for the first time since the 19th century.
During the recount of the November 6 elections, Scott won 10,033 votes out of a total of 8,19 million votes cast across the state, election officials said in Florida. Scott took 50.05%, against 49.93% for Nelson, they added.
Nelson, 76, was first elected to the House of Commons in 2000 by telephone. He phoned 65-year-old Scott to concede his existence and then issued a statement in which he worried about the "growing darkness" of American politics over the past few years. years. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have alleged, without proof, that the recount process was tainted by fraud.
Scott's victory gives the Republicans 52 seats on a 100-member Senate. In Mississippi, Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat challenger Mike Espy will run for the second round on November 27, after none of them have won the majority in their race in the US Senate.
Nelson became the last incumbent Democratic senator to be overthrown in the mid-term legislative elections, in which Republicans expanded their majority in the Senate, but lost control of the House of Representatives.
Other Democratic Democrats defeated include Joe Donnelly in Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota and Claire McCaskill in Missouri.
The Republicans will occupy both Senate seats since Florida, the third most populous US state and regular presidential battleground, for the first time since 1875, after the end of the American Civil War.
The recount process was as controversial as the campaign itself, with the candidates filing lawsuits and making allegations, including Scott saying Nelson was trying to "steal" the elections. Even before the recount process was completed and he has not yet been proclaimed winner, Scott appeared last week in Washington at an event bringing together the Senate Majority Leader. , Mitch McConnell, welcoming newly elected Republican senators.
"I just spoke to Senator Bill Nelson, who graciously conceded and I thanked him for his years of public service," Scott said in a statement.
The statement ended: "Let's go work."
In his own statement, Nelson deplored the tone of American politics in recent years and called for a "safe and healthy future". He took what appeared to be a veiled blow to Trump.
"We need to go beyond a policy that is not just about conquering but destroying, where the truth is seen as disposable, where lies abound and the free press is assaulted as a" ". " enemy of the people, "said Nelson.
Trump said on Twitter: "Since the first day, Rick Scott has never hesitated, he has been a great governor and will even be a bigger senator in representing the people of Florida."
Scott, who had been barred by national legislation from running for a third term as governor, first left the election with an official lead of less than 0.5 percentage point, prompting a recount.
The Florida Senate battle and the race for Scott's seat as governor were closely followed by the Democrats who hoped to win. On Saturday, Democrat Andrew Gillum conceded to his Republican rival, Ron DeSantis, Trump's ally, in the race for the governor's race, which had also been the subject of a recount.
Scott entered politics from the business world after amassing a personal fortune as a health sector leader. He drew on his fortune to finance his campaigns and was elected governor in 2010 and 2014.
Nelson has been part of Florida's political life since joining the state legislature in 1972. He then served in the US House of Representatives and held positions in the state cabinet.
Thousands of people across the country who reviewed the ballots during the counting process recalled the 2000 Florida presidential count, which ended only when the US Supreme Court intervened, giving up the presidency. from Republican George W. Bush to Democrat Al Gore.
(Report by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, edited by Will Dunham and Chris Reese)
Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.
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