Andrew Gillum Concedes Florida Governor Race By Mairead McArdle
Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum conceded Florida’s gubernatorial race Saturday to Republican Ron DeSantis.
“R.J. and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Mr. DeSantis on becoming the next governor of the great state of Florida,” Gillum said in a video posted to Facebook. “This has been the journey of our lives.”
The Tallahassee mayor conceded the race to DeSantis, a former Florida representative, on election night but backtracked as more votes were counted and the race appeared closer than originally thought.
However, DeSantis was still about 30,000 votes ahead after a machine recount.
President Trump appeared to anticipate Gillum’s loss, saying earlier on Twitter than the candidate is a “strong Democrat warrior” and will be a “force to reckon with.”
The sometimes acrimonious race was one of several high-profile midterm races in Florida and saw the two opponents trade barbs over the Parkland shooting and even veer into racial controversies.
“Stay tuned,” Gillum said. “The fight for Florida continues.”
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