Andrew Gillum conceded late Tuesday to his Republican opponent Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in Florida’s closely-watched, key gubernatorial race after DeSantis maintained a lead over Gillum with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
Democrat Andrew Gillum has conceded to @RonDeSantisFL! REPUBLICANS WIN FLORIDA! ???
— Jon Thompson (@JonThompsonGOP) November 7, 2018
Trump-backed Rep. Ron DeSantis ran a tight race against Gillum, a Bernie Sanders-backed candidate and the mayor of Tallahassee, who secured an impressive victory in his August primary. Gillum supported far left positions such as abolishing ICE and establishing Medicare for All.
Gillum had also faced scrutiny over accepting Hamilton tickets from an undercover FBI agent who was conducting an ethics probe. He claimed that he received the tickets from his brother and accused the GOP of attempting to reinforce “stereotypes about black men" by bringing up the issue.
Gillum made a concession speech late Tuesday.
"We recognize that, you know, we didn't win it tonight. We didn't win this transaction," he told his supporters. He said that he had called Rep. DeSantis to concede.
“We still have to be willing to show up every single day and demand a seat at the table,” he emphasized.
“I still believe and I still trust the voters. We may not have all shown up,” he added.
Andrew Gillum concedes to GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis in Florida's gubernatorial race: "We recognize that, you know, we didn't win it tonight. We didn't win this transaction." https://t.co/QF15MHrJt2 #Midterm2018 pic.twitter.com/lFYbOlVgJs
— ABC News (@ABC) November 7, 2018