Rick Scott's victory in the Senate race in Florida is likely to be the subject of a recount: NPR

Updated 16:37 E. T.

Senate Republican candidate Rick Scott has declared victory in Florida, but incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson is calling for a recount.

Wilfredo Lee / AP

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Wilfredo Lee / AP

Senate Republican candidate Rick Scott has declared victory in Florida, but incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson is calling for a recount.

Wilfredo Lee / AP

Outgoing Senator Bill Nelson in Florida calls for a recount in a frantic race with Republican Rick Scott, outgoing governor of the state.

The results show that Rick Scott, governor of the limited-duration state, has risen by about 34,000 votes out of 8.1 million votes cast. It's in the margin of half a percent that launches an automatic recount in Florida.

Scott claimed victory Tuesday night. But Nelson does not concede. In a statement, Nelson said "we are recounting".

Nelson's election campaign estimates that there are still more than 100,000 ballots to count. This is in addition to the more than 8 million counted votes.

Scott Miller, a political consultant and Republican political consultant in Pensacola, says the odds are against Nelson, but it makes sense for him to wait for a recount.

"I'm not surprised," said Miller. "I mean, it's kind of like a free gift, you never know what's going to happen, there's a lot of chaos on election night."

Florida State Secretary Ken Detzner, appointed by Scott, is expected to order a new electronic count after the compilation of unofficial statements. They are due in each of the 67 counties in the state by Saturday.

Scott's campaign indicates that the race is over and accuses Nelson of trying to keep something "that does not exist anymore".

President Trump agrees. At today's press conference, Trump said, "Rick Scott won and I help him and I think we did a great job."

President Trump has made several appearances in Florida before the midterms. And another Republican candidate he's endorsed in the state, Rick DeSantis, has defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum in the Florida governor's race.

If a recount leads to the defeat of Bill Nelson, Florida would lose its sole Democratic Democrat position holder across the state.