Fla. certifies victory for Dem Murphy, West refuses to concede

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) is refusing to concede the race to retain his House seat, despite the state of Florida certifying his challenger's victory.

Florida certified congressman-elect Patrick Murphy (D) as the winner of his race against incumbent West.

“As expected, the Election Night results have been confirmed. It is now time to put the campaign behind us. I am honored that the voters of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches have chosen me to be their voice in Congress. Regardless of whether they voted for me or my opponent, I am committed to representing the interests of all residents of Florida’s 18th Congressional district in Washington,” Murphy said in a Saturday statement.

The vote gap between Murphy and West was too large to trigger a recount.

West's campaign said late Saturday that the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections' decision to recount early votes "should help shed light on the situation."

"Tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., the St Lucie County Supervisor of Elections will recount all early votes cast in St. Lucie County. West for Congress is pleased with the Supervisor's decision, as the counting of early votes on Election Night was of great concern to our campaign, given the large shift that occurred at midnight of nearly 4,000 votes," the campaign said in a statement.

"While we still look forward to reviewing the poll books used to check in voters during early voting and Election Day, this recount goes a long way to ensuring an accurate outcome."

West sent a letter to the county's elections board supervisor Thursday threatening legal action over what he called “discrepancies” at the polls.

The race produced particularly memorable ads, with West using Murphy's mug shot from an underage drinking incident in one and a political action committee backing Murphy using a caricature of West punching elderly women and taking money from a family in another.

As of mid-October, according to The Palm Beach Post, the race was one of the most expensive House races in the nation, with outside groups and the candidates pouring a collective $23 million into the contest.

--This report was originally published at 2:43 p.m. and last updated at 6:06 p.m.

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