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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/10/florida-recounts-senate-governor-desantis-gillum-scott-nelson
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| Florida orders recounts in Senate and governor's races | Florida orders recounts in Senate and governor's races |
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| The Florida secretary of state has ordered recounts in the US Senate and governor races, an unprecedented review of two major elections in the state that took five weeks to decide the 2000 presidential election. | |
| Donald Trump duly stoked controversy over the recounts, tweeting: “Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!” | |
| Secretary Ken Detzner issued the order on Saturday after unofficial results in both races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount. | |
| The unofficial results show that Ron DeSantis , the Republican former US representative, led Andrew Gillum, the Democratic Tallahassee mayor, by less than 0.5%, which will require a machine recount of ballots. | |
| In the Senate race, Republican governor Rick Scott’s lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25%, which will require a hand recount of ballots from tabulation machines that could not determine which candidate got the vote. | In the Senate race, Republican governor Rick Scott’s lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25%, which will require a hand recount of ballots from tabulation machines that could not determine which candidate got the vote. |
| Florida is also conducting a hand recount in a third statewide race. Democrat Nikki Fried had a razor-thin lead over Republican state representative Matt Caldwell in the race for agriculture commissioner, one of Florida’s three cabinet seats. | |
| Saturday’s development’s return Florida to the center of a major political drama, 18 years after an infamous presidential recount left control of the White House undecided for more than a month. | |
| In 2000, it took more than five weeks for Florida to declare George W Bush the victor over vice-president Al Gore by 537 votes, thus giving Bush the presidency. | |
| Florida was mocked for the way it handled the recount, especially since there was no uniform process then on how to proceed. That has changed, with the state legislature passing a clear procedure on how recounts should be conducted. | |
| The latest developments underscore the deep divide in one of the most critical states in US politics. Beyond determining the governorship, it will decide whether Nelson returns to Washington for a fourth term or whether Republicans will pad their majority in the Senate. | |
| Florida’s 67 counties will decide when to begin the recounts. They could start the moment Detzner issued his order, or wait until Sunday or Monday. But they must finish the machine recounts by 3pm on Thursday. Hand recounts will be reflected in official election results due on 18 November. | |
| Gillum conceded to DeSantis on Tuesday night, but when the results began to narrow he said that every vote should count and he was not expected to block a recount. DeSantis has said little about the recount and is instead proceeding as if he won the election, appointing a transition team and preparing to take office in January. | |
| The battle for Nelson’s Senate seat has been much more heated, both sides filing lawsuits. Scott has said Nelson is trying to steal the election, while Nelson is accusing Scott of trying to stop elections officials from counting every ballot. | |
| Trump has also weighed in. Trump took Scott’s side on Friday, telling reporters that the federal government could get involved and adding: “All of the sudden they are finding votes out of nowhere.” | |
| “What’s going on in Florida is a disgrace,” he said. | |
| US midterms 2018 | US midterms 2018 |
| US politics | US politics |
| Florida | Florida |
| Republicans | Republicans |
| Democrats | Democrats |
| US Congress | US Congress |
| US Senate | US Senate |
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