Democrat Nicole Locklin said Monday, Nov. 9, that she will not accept the result of the race in Florida’s 26th Congressional District. According to the Associated Press, Republican Mario Diaz-Balart won reelection.
According to the latest figures, Diaz-Balart leads by 1,702 votes out of 229,804 cast. The race was much closer than expected. The Florida Division of Elections website showed Monday that Diaz-Balart received 114,578 votes (49.86%), Locklin 112,874 votes (49.12%), and independent candidate Deborah Ann Meidinger Hosey 2,352 votes (1.02%).
Locklin said she will seek access to election records. She said she is requesting evidence from the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections so she can independently verify the results through public records requests. She said the goal is to make sure every vote is counted and properly recorded.
Diaz-Balart declared victory on the Wednesday after the election. In his statement, he pointed to brief confusion in the media, where about 3,000 additional votes for Locklin briefly appeared. According to him, those votes never made it into the official results of Miami-Dade and Broward counties or the state. The Associated Press told CBS Miami that the cause was a data-entry error that was quickly detected and corrected.
The margin between the candidates exceeds the 0.5% threshold that triggers an automatic recount in Florida. According to WSVN, officials had said earlier that there would be no recount in FL-26. The district covers parts of Miami-Dade and Broward counties. In Broward, Locklin beat Diaz-Balart by more than 24,000 votes. The results are to be certified no sooner than about 10 days after the election.
Diaz-Balart has served in Congress for 23 years. In January, he will return to the House of Representatives, where the Republican Party will no longer hold the majority but will be in the minority.
Source: WLRN, Local 10
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Source: Słoneczne Radio
