Floridians in the new 18th congressional district gave much of the conservative world a shock Tuesday when Rep. Allen West, a freshman congressman, ended up slightly behind Democrat Patrick Murphy in voting with 97 percent of the precincts reporting. While the full vote count may not be known until Wednesday/Thursday, according to a WPTV.com account, Business Insider felt confident enough to report Murphy as the projected winner based on NBC News numbers. These had Murphy up 159,959 to 157,578 with 99 percent of the precincts reporting.
One thing this contest certainly was not was boring. At one point, West launched a memorable ad highighting Murphy's mugshot. One group, according WPTV, labeled this the most expensive House race in the country.
With 97 percent of the precincts reporting, it's important to note West had yet to make a concession call, according to Business Insider, though there's no word on whether West did so when later numbers came in. According to WPTV, a margin in votes narrower than .5 percent between the two candidates would trigger a recount.
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