TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican state Rep. Matt Caldwell said Monday he won’t challenge his loss to Democrat Nikki Fried in Florida’s agriculture commission race — a contest that was the closest of the three statewide seats that went through a recount.
Caldwell made his announcement in an email, the day after official election results were turned in showing Fried with a 6,753-vote lead out of more than 8 million ballots cast, or a difference of 0.08 percentage points.
In his concession, Caldwell said there were clear problems with the way the vote count was conducted in Broward and Palm Beach counties, but it would cost millions of dollars to continue challenging the results.
“I will no longer be pursuing a challenge to the outcome of this race. Accordingly, I have called Nikki Fried and notified her of my decision to not pursue the matter any further and I have offered to assist her in any way I can as she takes the office of Commissioner.”
Recounts were also conducted in Florida’s races for governor and U.S. Senate. Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis defeated Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 32,463 votes in the contest to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Scott defeated Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson by 10,033.
The election results will be certified on Tuesday. Fried will become the first woman to serve as Florida’s agriculture commissioner.
Meanwhile, Fried sent an email to supporters on Monday seeking donations to pay for the recount.
“The recount process was extremely expensive, so even though we won, we need your help,” the email said.
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