TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Democrat Andrew Gillum ended his hard-fought campaign for Florida governor Saturday with just hours remaining for counties to turn in official recount results, conceding to a Republican whose party has held that office since 1999.
Gillum, in a video he posted on Facebook, congratulated Republican Ron DeSantis and also vowed to remain politically active even though his term as mayor of the Florida capital of Tallahassee ends next week. Of his future plans, Florida’s first African-American nominee for governor said: “stay tuned.”
The announcement came just hours before Florida’s counties must turn in their official results after tense days of recounting ballots in both the gubernatorial and a U.S. Senate contest — two nationally watched midterm elections that have keep the presidential swing state on edge since Election Day.
“This has been the journey of our lives,” said Gillum, appearing in the video with his wife, R. Jai Gillum. “Although nobody wanted to be governor more than me, this was not just about an election cycle. This was about creating the kind of change in this state that really allows the voices of everyday people to show up again in our government.”
Gillum’s brief remarks came hours after President Donald Trump, who at one point in the campaign had sharply criticized Gillum, praised him for running a tough race.
“He will be a strong Democrat warrior long into the future – a force to reckon with!” said Trump in a Twitter post.
Gillum had initially conceded to DeSantis on election night, but he retracted it as the razor-thin margin between the two candidates narrowed. But he still trailed DeSantis by more than 30,000 votes following a legally required machine recount. Counties are wrapping up a hand recount this weekend and must submit their official results by noon Sunday.