Sen. Bill Nelson and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. | AP Photo/Andrew Harnik Nelson confident Clinton will win Florida 'comfortably'

TAMPA — Sen. Bill Nelson told reporters in Tampa Tuesday night that he’s confident Clinton will win Florida and the election.

"I believe Hillary will win quite comfortably in Florida,” he said, adding, “So goes Florida, so goes the country.”


Nelson, a Democrat, also said that if she does win, “I hope for the sake of our country that Donald [Trump] will be gracious in defeat.”

“That’s important for our country,” he said. "It’s important that the losing candidate pass off the legitimacy to the winning candidate so we can come together and govern under the Constitution. If it were to be the opposite I think that would be a very sad day for us.”

Asked why he expects a big win for Clinton, Nelson said, “Look at the Hispanics turning out. Often the Hispanics are registered no party affiliation, but the young Hispanics, they’ll be voting for Hillary."

Nelson also said he expects large advantages for Clinton among women and African-American voters will put her over the top in the Sunshine State.

He said he expects that if Clinton wins by as much as four points in Florida, it could also impact the Senate race between Democrat Patrick Murphy and the Republican incumbent, Marco Rubio.

"I think that will pull Patrick [Murphy] up to where it is well within striking district for Patrick,” he said, clarifying that he expects it to be a nail-biter.

Nelson wasn’t ready to think about what’s next if Trump does end up winning.

“Let’s take that as we get there, because I’m quite confident that Hillary is going to win,” he said.

Of the election, though, he said, “It’s the nastiest in modern-day political history in this country. There’s too much ugliness."

