Dems continue to pick up votes, Fried increases lead

As of 7 a.m. Friday, Bill Nelson only trails Rick Scott by 15,074 votes. Andrew Gillum has reduced Rob DeSantis’ lead to only 36,211 votes. And Nikki Fried has increased her lead over Matt Caldwell to 2,915 votes.

U.S. Senate
Rick Scott REP 4,094,767
Bill Nelson DEM 4,079,693
15,074 0.184%

 

The News Service of Florida reports Scott lashed out Thursday night at elections supervisors in Broward and Palm Beach counties as “incompetent” and part of an effort to “thwart the will of the people.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has filed a lawsuit against Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes. The lawsuit, which seeks an immediate hearing, contends her office continues to withhold crucial voter information and has blocked access to the office.

Sen. Marco Rubio  tweeted yesterday, “Now democrat lawyers are descending on #Florida. They have been very clear they aren’t here to make sure every vote is counted.”

Marc Elias, a lawyer representing Nelson’s campaign, said during a Thursday news conference, “I firmly believe that at the end of this process, Sen. Nelson is going to prevail. When, at the end of the day, all eligible voters have their votes counted and counted accurately, the fundamental truth that we’re going to learn is that more voters voted for Sen. Nelson than for Gov. Scott.  … There isn’t anything that Gov. Scott and his billions of dollars is going to be able to do about that.”

Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin issued a response to media questions about Rick Scott’s comments: “The goal here is to see that all the votes in Florida are counted and counted accurately. Rick Scott’s action appears to be politically motivated and borne out of desperation.”

Governor
Ron DeSantis REP 4,072,796
Andrew Gillum DEM 4,036,585
36,211 0.447%

Ron DeSantis has ignored the controversy and announced his transition team.

Andrew Gillum released a video:  “Let’s count every vote, and let’s bring it home.”

 

Commissioner of Agriculture
Matt Caldwell REP 4,021,733
Nikki Fried DEM 4,024,648
-2,915 -0.036%

Matt Caldwell issued this statement last night: “I applaud Governor Scott for taking decisive action to uphold the integrity and fairness of this election and to protect the voters of our state. To echo the Governor, it is unacceptable that we cannot get an accurate count of how many outstanding ballots remain, while boxes of ballots continue to be “found”. We will fight to ensure this election is accurate and fair. The people of Florida deserve nothing less.”

Responding to Rubio’s tweet, Nikki Fried tweeted, “Floridians deserve to have their voices heard—that’s how democracy works, @marcorubio. We fully expect as the process continues our lead will only continue to grow!”