Sen. Bill Nelson's defeat represents the loss of the de facto head of the Florida Democratic Party. | AP Photo Elections Nelson concedes to put end to bitter Florida Senate race

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott will be the next senator from Florida after two rounds of recounts finalized his razor-thin victory over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson, who called the governor to concede Sunday.

Nelson's political career now comes to a likely end after four decades in various elected posts.


Scott’s lead after the Nov. 6 general election was just over 12,000 votes, a number that shrank to roughly 10,000 after a machine and hand recount. Always trailing by a thin margin, the Nelson campaign had filed a stream of lawsuits that it predicted would produce thousands of additional votes for the three-term senator.

But those efforts failed, and Nelson is now set to address the media at 3 p.m. He called Scott to officially concede shortly after 2 p.m.

Scott put more than $50 million of his own money into the race, giving his campaign a significant financial advantage over Nelson.

Republicans have been quick to point out that roughly $50 million from outside Democratic groups was poured into defeating Scott in the closely watched race. On the other side, outside Democratic groups spent about $20 million to try and save the party’s lone hold on power in a third-biggest state in the nation.

In Nelson’s video conceding the race, he took a more contentious tone than is normally expected when a race comes to an end. He did not mention Scott’s name once, noted he was “heavily outspent,” and listed several policy and political talking points that were used during the nasty race.

That included again calling elected office a “public trust,” a term he used throughout the campaign to imply Scott used his post as governor’s office for self-gain.

“I was not victorious in this race, but I still wish to strongly re-affirm the cause for which we fought: A public office is a public trust,” Nelson said.

The defeat represents the loss of the de facto head of the Florida Democratic Party, the title Nelson wore because he was the party’s only statewide elected official. Newly-elected Democratic Agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried is the party’s only statewide elected official.

Her race also went through two rounds of recounts, but she ultimately beat Republican state Rep. Matt Caldwell by more than 6,700 votes. Fried was losing slightly after election night, but unlike Nelson took the lead after ballots were recounted.

“To everyone who put their lives on hold and worked to see the recount process through, to protect the integrity of our democracy – thank you,” Fried tweeted shortly after the manual recount was completed at noon on Sunday. “I’m honored to serve as your next Commissioner of Agriculture. Now, we come together and work in union to govern for the people of Florida.”

Though Nelson’s loss is a gut punch for Democrats, getting a foothold in the Florida Cabinet, which has been completely Republican held for eight years, offers something of a silver lining. The Cabinet includes the governor, the agriculture commissioner, CFO and attorney general.

In another significant state-level race that went to a manual recount, outgoing state House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz knocked off Republican state Sen. Dana Young by just 411 votes, or .2 percent. The race was the most expensive 2018 state Senate race.

Two Florida House races also went to recounts. In Daytona Beach’s House District 26, Republican Elizabeth Fetterhoff beat Democratic state Rep. Patrick Henry 50.05-49.95; and in Palm Beach County’s House District 89, Republican Mike Caruso beat Democrat Jim Bonfiglio.