Rep. Allen West concedes after Fla. recount fight

November 20, 2012 @ 3:06 pm


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Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Tea party firebrand Rep. Allen West conceded his re-election fight Tuesday, two weeks after the vote gave way to court appearances, two partial recounts and unending accusations by his camp that the vote count wasn't fair.

"There are certainly still inaccuracies in the results" but not enough to change the outcome, the Republican freshman said in a statement conceding the race to Democratic newcomer Patrick Murphy.

"While a contest of the election results might have changed the vote totals, we do not have evidence that the outcome would change," West added.

Murphy campaign manager Anthony Kusich said he was not aware of any concession call to his candidate, simply an email that was publicly distributed.

In his own statement, Murphy said he was "humbled by Congressman West's gracious concession" and eager to get to work on behalf of all voters.

"To those who supported my opponent, my door is open and I want to hear your voice," Murphy said. "I campaigned on a message of reaching across the aisle to get things done for the people of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches, and that is as important in this district as it is in Washington."

Murphy declared victory hours after the vote, even as thousands of absentee, provisional and overseas ballots were processed and two partial recounts undertaken. But West's campaign remained skeptical of the results, largely in St. Lucie County, where elections officials acknowledged missteps.

An initial recount of some early ballots in St. Lucie gave West a slight bump. His campaign fought for a fuller recount, and received it, but it only improved Murphy's margin of victory. St. Lucie's final tally ultimately was discarded because it didn't meet a state deadline. Numbers certified by the state Tuesday give Murphy the win by 1,904 votes.

Many have speculated West could find a new career in the place where he has been frequently seen, on cable television, but he has not said what his next step will be. "Only God knows what is in store for each of us," he said in his statement, adding, "I will continue to fight for our republic."

Whatever the next step, the contest between Murphy and West will go down as one of the most expensive in congressional history. Murphy eked out the win though he was out-fundraised more than 4-to-1.

West, 51, is a favorite among the most conservative reaches of the Republican Party. He has made a string of headline-grabbing statements, from calling a majority of congressional Democrats communists to saying President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and others should "get the hell out of the United States."

Murphy, 29, portrayed West as an extremist who had done little else in Washington than stoke partisan fires.

In his concession statement, West offered congratulations to Murphy, saying "I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own."

___

Follow Matt Sedensky on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sedensky


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (25)


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  • CH wrote...
    Republican Rep. Allen West refused to concede . . . .
    November 7, 2012 4:19 pm
    pack your bag and hit the door.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Bad loser
    November 7, 2012 6:56 pm
    Give it up, when you find out that nobody wanted you anyway, it will be that much harder to show your face at the grocery store.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    Now that's rich!
    November 7, 2012 7:37 pm
    West had Governor Rick Scott, a convicted criminal, and the entire Florida GOP voter suppression machine behind him, scrubbing tens of thousands of likely Dems from the voter rolls and making sure that heavily democratic districts were forced to stand for HOURS to vote. And he doesn't trust the GOP-owned voting machines?

    I love it! These teabaggers cant get over the fact that despite their best efforts to steal another election, they were outvoted anyway.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hpitantso wrote...
    Tea Bag wantabe move
    November 7, 2012 8:50 pm
    West is sorry loser next he try to use deadly force, never took cause serious when this fails watch this lost his way fellow close.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @hpitantso...
    November 9, 2012 12:14 pm
    it seems that whenever these extremists lose, it's not because the voters didn't want him - it's because of conspiracies and fraud. Pathetic.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hpitantso wrote...
    I blame that on
    November 7, 2012 8:54 pm
    I-502
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Wow. What is it with these extremist republicans?
    November 9, 2012 12:12 pm
    They demand that everyone bow to thier wishes and when Americans get tired of that act and don't elect them, they demand to be beleived when they cook up falsehoods about the vote counting and demand to be in control of it - even when that means contravening existing law.... They've done it here in the past _and_ the present (both there in West's race in Florida and here - raising the specter of challenging the results of the vote count in the governor's race - simply because 'how dare McKenna not be elected!) It's pathetic _at best_.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Republican Rep. Allen West - it's not . . . .
    November 10, 2012 5:33 am
    2000.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • daveismenotyou wrote...
    CH
    November 20, 2012 9:09 am
    good to see you out of your mommy's basement for more than one post! Are you done playing video games today?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • calapete wrote...
    Now he can go work for Fox news
    November 20, 2012 11:26 am
    he will fit right in.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Didn't Republicans tell us that only democrats want to 'recount until we win'???
    November 20, 2012 1:02 pm
    It seems like every time that Republicans and right wingers tell us that 'democrats are the only ones who ______', a Republican goes and proves them wrong.... Yet they won't remember a single time that a republican proved them wrong the next time that they start spewing these same old unproven bits of rhetoric....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    Sore loser?
    November 20, 2012 1:21 pm
    Like say, the Sore Loserman ticket? Ahh the Dingleberry party and their hanging chads are not in your memory banks?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }