After recount, chorus gets louder for Andrew Gillum to concede Florida governor's race

Jeff Burlew | Tallahassee Democrat

Show Caption Hide Caption Andrew Gillum's Concession Speech |Video Andrew Gillum delivers his concession speech after losing a close race to governor-elect Ron DeSantis.

The chorus of calls for Mayor Andrew Gillum to concede the governor’s race got louder after Florida’s machine recount showed Ron DeSantis with a lead that appeared insurmountable barring an extraordinary turn of events.

The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board, in an opinion piece titled, “The Ungracious Mr. Gillum,” said Thursday that Gillum’s refusal to concede was “a display of ill-grace that won’t help his political future in Florida.” Even some Democrats began expressing frustration.

“Every minute Andrew Gillum doesn’t concede at this point he looks worse and worse (or at least he does to me). It’s over. Move on,” Matt Isbell, a Democratic data guru who supported Congresswoman Gwen Graham in the primary, said in a Thursday tweet.

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Peter Schorsch, publisher of FloridaPolitics.com, chimed in on Twitter, too, suggesting everyone else should move on even if Gillum won’t.

“What’s more powerful than calling on @andrewGillum to concede?” he asked. “Just ignore him. Indifference is stronger than disgust. Ignore Gillum, focus on transition, plan inaugural ... and pop the Champagne. Just don’t waste any time asking the guy (who) lost to concede.”

Florida’s machine recount, which ended Thursday, showed DeSantis ahead by more than 33,000 votes, outside the margin necessary to trigger a hand recount. Manual recounts in even closer contests, including the U.S. Senate race between Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Bill Nelson, are expected to wrap by noon Sunday.

After that, Gillum has 10 days — until Nov. 30 — to challenge the official election results, said his lawyer, Barry Richard of Tallahassee. Meanwhile, a few remaining legal challenges brought by Nelson and his Democratic allies are still moving through the courts.

Gillum, clearly waiting to see how the litigation and recounts play out, hasn’t said whether he intends to file a lawsuit of his own. On Thursday, he issued a statement saying that recounts and court proceedings show there are still thousands of votes to be counted.

“We plan to do all we can to ensure that every voice is heard in this process,” Gillum said. “It is not over until every legally (cast) vote is counted.”

Richard, a prominent trial attorney who represented George W. Bush during the Florida election debacle of 2000, said Gillum has no plans to file a “meaningless” lawsuit.

“What he’s asked me throughout this is, 'What is our legal standing and what kind of case do we have?' ” Richard said. “And he’s made it clear to me he’s not interested in filing a lawsuit just to file it. And of course my answer up to now has been, 'It depends.' We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

The latest on the Florida recounts:

Gillum conceded the governor’s race on Election Night. But four days later, as his race and others headed toward recounts, he withdrew his concession. Since then, in church appearances and an interview with Rolling Stone, he’s continued his refrain that every legal vote should count. He’s also criticized provisions of Florida election law involving recount deadlines and signature requirements.

Former Congressman DeSantis said Thursday the election results were “clear and unambiguous” and signaled again that he is moving forward as governor-elect. He also offered something of an olive branch to Gillum.

"I invite Mayor Gillum to join me in the days ahead in a conversation about the future of our great state,” DeSantis said. “We have both traveled the state and met Floridians from all walks of life. Sharing these experiences will, I believe, help us unite our state and build toward unity on behalf of the people of Florida.”

Richard said the process will play itself out no matter what the candidates say.

“That process doesn’t end until 10 days after certification,” he said. “And it seems to me that people should be satisfied to let the process work. The candidates certainly in the governor’s race have conducted themselves with dignity during the recount. And they should be allowed to do what they’re doing, which is waiting for the process to finish.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.