 |
| West: "Do I look like I'm gonna concede?" |
More about the ruling: "Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge David F. Crow ruled West's motion was premature because no official result has been announced in the one-term incumbent's race against Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy. Crow said the motion 'fell woefully short of what's required' to grant an injunction, the Fort Pierce Tribune reported. Crow said there was no evidence any statute had been violated, the newspaper said."
The article continues: "The most recent count in Florida's 18th District showed Murphy with a lead of about 0.66 percent -- larger than the 0.5 percent differential required to trigger a recount under Florida law, the Palm Beach Post reported."
UPDATE: Apparently the absentee and provisional ballots have now been counted. However, as of 5:15pm ET, Rep. West still ain't conceding the race. It looks like he will legally challenge results in St. Lucie County, where his campaign charges that the ballot count doesn't match the number of voters. According to The Washington Post: "The state issued complete but unofficial results showing Murphy with a lead of 2,442 votes, or 50.4 percent. That’s beyond the half-percent margin needed to trigger an automatic recount. A handful of overseas and military ballots remain outstanding, but under state law the decision for a recount is based on Saturday’s count."
