Democrat Andrew Gillum conceded in the Florida governor’s race Saturday and offered congratulations to his Republican opponent, Ron DeSantis.
“I want to congratulate @RonDeSantisFL on becoming the next Governor of the great state of Florida,” Gillum tweeted. “My wife R. Jai and I could not be prouder of the way we ran this race. We could not be more thankful to my running mate, @ChrisKingFL and his wife Kristen.”
Most importantly, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for being part of this campaign. I wouldn’t be here without the support that was shown by millions of Floridians. I encourage y’all to keep fighting for what we believe in.
Gillum, who is the mayor of Tallahassee, also streamed a video message to the people of Florida, thanking them for sticking by him, and reiterated that all he wanted was for “every single vote” to be counted.
“We wanted to make sure that every single vote … as long as it was a legally cast vote, we wanted those votes to be counted,” Gillum said on Facebook. “And now that we are rounding that process out R. Jai and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Mr. DeSantis on becoming the governor of the great state of Florida.”
DeSantis caused a stir in August, drawing accusations of using a racist dog whistle after saying during a Fox News interview that voters should not “monkey this up” by electing Gillum, who would have been the state’s first black governor.
As Election Day approached, Gillum got numerous celebrity endorsements, including from DJ Khaled, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Tiffany Haddish, Will Packer, Gabrielle Union, and Common. Former President Obama also endorsed him.
Gillum originally conceded on Election Day but then withdraw his concession when the total votes fell within a recount threshold.
DeSantis led the race for governor by less than 34,000 votes out of more than 8 million cast — roughly .41 percent — following a machine recount. A difference of .25 percent would have forced a hand recount.
2020 Presidential Election Odds: Can Oprah Challenge Trump? (Photos)
Oprah Winfrey's Golden Globes speech inspired stars, including Meryl Streep, to endorse their candidate -- even though the entertainment mogul isn't officially running... yet. With the next election cycle on the horizon, bookmakers are asking who might challenge President Trump in 2020. The website betonline.ag shared its current odds on who will next win the White House.
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Marco Rubio - 50/1 Odds
Rubio earned the nickname "Little Marco" from Trump during the Republican primary. Would he think to challenge his own party by running again?
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Amy Klobuchar - 50/1 Odds
Klobuchar is a senator from Minnesota and another democratic rising star.
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Andrew Cuomo - 50/1 Odds
The governor of New York has frequently feuded with Trump and his sons.
Mark Cuban - 50/1 Odds
"I think there is a place for somebody who is socially a centrist, but I'm fiscally conservative," Cuban said on Fox News back in October, hinting he may run, but as a Republican.
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Paul Ryan - 50/1 Odds
When Ryan was reported to have his sights set on retiring as Speaker of the House, the White House denied it and suggested Trump and Ryan are working together just fine.
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Julian Castro - 50/1 Odds
Obama's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is a Texas native, the former mayor of San Antonio and is considered a rising star among Democrats.
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Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - 40/1 Odds
"The Rock" teased a presidential run in one of his "SNL" stints, but he may be smart to consider a vice president spot after hearing Oprah's Golden Globes speech.
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Michael Bloomberg - 40/1 Odds
The former New York mayor's name was also floated back in 2016, but his odds are down from 33/1 since then.
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Ben Shapiro - 33/1 Odds
Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro has suggested he may stage a run for president in 2020. If we know one thing about his possible candidacy, it's that Rosie O'Donnell won't be stumping for him.
Kirsten Gillibrand - 33/1 Odds
The New York senator pushed back hard at Trump after he suggested that she was a "flunky" who "would do anything" for campaign contributions.
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Mark Zuckerberg - 33/1 Odds
The Silicon Valley CEO disputed Trump's tweet that Facebook was biased against him, but has been focusing his attention on eliminating Russian trolls' influence over the site.
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Michelle Obama - 33/1 Odds
“Why don’t you want our kids to have good food at school? What is wrong with you and why is that a partisan issue," the former first lady asked of President Trump, just one instance of how she's challenged the current administration.
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Cory Booker - 25/1 Odds
Currently only 48, Booker is one of several young democratic hopefuls who could challenge Trump in 2020.
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Elizabeth Warren - 20/1 Odds
Elizabeth Warren is still a popular candidate, but the list of young, Democratic contenders is deep.
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Bernie Sanders - 14/1 Odds
The Vermont senator would be 79 in 2020. Would he run again?
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Mike Pence - 14/1 Odds
The odds for Trump's VP are predictably the best among other Republican contenders.
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Kamala Harris - 12/1 Odds
The first-year senator from California has earned a lot of points in the last year thanks to her persistence in grilling Jeff Sessions in front of Congress.
Oprah's odds rocketed up after her inspiring Golden Globes speech, and her odds have improved from January 8 when she was listed at 20/1, but it's still anyone's guess as to whether she'll actually run.
See who may throw their hat in the ring for the White House and learn their chances of winning
Oprah Winfrey's Golden Globes speech inspired stars, including Meryl Streep, to endorse their candidate -- even though the entertainment mogul isn't officially running... yet. With the next election cycle on the horizon, bookmakers are asking who might challenge President Trump in 2020. The website betonline.ag shared its current odds on who will next win the White House.