FLORIDA
Update 7:36 PM
Currently in the state of Florida, Republican candidate for governor, Ron DeSantis is in the lead at 49.4% against his opponent, Democrat candidate Andrew Gillum, who is extremely close behind at 49.3%.
Controversy has followed DeSantis after he made, what some criticized as, a racist comment during an interview on Fox News.
“Let’s build off the success we’ve had on Governor Scott,” DeSantis said in the interview. “The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state.”
The race for governor in the state has been close throughout its duration and seems to be continuing its closeness throughout the night of elections.
Update 7:36 PM
Florida’s Senate race is one to keep an eye on tonight as the numbers continue to roll in.
Currently Democrat incumbent Bill Nelson is in the lead at 51.2% and sitting Governor Rick Scott is at 48.8%.
Both candidates have similar points on their platforms about protecting Florida’s environment and turning Florida into a hub for creating jobs.
It will all be up to Florida voters on whether they want their current Senate representative to continue in his seat, or if they want to give their governor a chance to prove himself in a different seat.
Florida’s governor’s race is leaning more Democrat at the moment, so it will be interesting to watch and see if the rest of the state and seats follow suit.
Update 8:48 PM
In one of the biggest state representative races in Florida right now, District 27 is projected to flip from Republican to Democrat.
With 75% of votes reported at the moment, Democrat nominee, Donna Shalala is in the lead with 51.7% of the votes and Maria Salazar, Republican nominee, has 45.9% of the votes.
Although small in the sense of district lines, District 27 has a large population due to the cities within it such as Miami.
District 27 also has a large say in swaying the vote for the race for governor as well as senate.
Update 9:23 PM
With 96% of the votes in, the Florida Governor’s race is “too close to call” according to NBC News.
Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum are neck and neck as the race nears its end with DeSantis at 49.9% and Gillum at 48.8%.
Washington County in Florida’s panhandle is the last county waiting on its votes to be counted to decide the fate of Florida’s governor.
Unsurprisingly, ages between 18 and 39 have led the way for votes for Gillum and DeSantis has gotten a majority of votes from ages between 40 and 65 and over.
We’ll keep you updated once the final votes are in.
Update 11:22 PM
In a major plot twist, Democrat nominee Andrew Gillum for Florida’s governor race conceded at the last minute in his race against Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis has won the seat of governor in the extremely close race that was dubbed “too close to call” by NBC News for hours on election night.
This may give Gillum, who is currently the mayor of Tallahassee, the platform he needs to run for higher political seats in the future.
The final percentages when Gillum conceded were 48.9% of the votes for Gillum and 49.9% for DeSantis. Ninety-nine percent of the votes from the state were in at the time.