Democrat concedes in Florida Senate race

Loss leaves state with two Republican senators, adding to GOP majority

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.— U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson gave up his re-election bid on Sunday saying that “things worked out a little differently than … I had hoped.”

The veteran Capitol Hill Democrat conceded his razor-thin race Sunday to Republican Rick Scott with a video statement on the same day Florida’s counties had to submit their official results from a sometimes bumpy recount. Those results showed the three-term incumbent had trailed Scott by just more than 10,000 votes.

Nelson had been a Democratic survivor as the GOP ascended into power, hewing to a more moderate tone even as newcomers such as Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum tried to push the party in a more liberal direction.

The outcome of the recount means Florida, the United States’ third-most-populous state, will be represented by two GOP senators. Scott’s victory will also boost Republicans’ Senate majority to 52 seats in the new Congress to Democrats’ 47 seats. One race, in Mississippi, will be decided in a runoff on Nov. 27.

The weeks leading up to the election were bitter, and it remained that way after it became clear that the race between Nelson and Scott would head to a legally required recount.