Girtman, Power Win After Machine Recount; HD 26 Goes To Manual Recount

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DeLand, FL - The machine recount is finally done in Volusia County, but the nail-chewing isn't over for Republican Elizabeth Fetterhoff or Democrat Patrick Henry.

Click here to see the final results for all six races which were under recount.

FLORIDA HOUSE DISTRICT 26

Fetterhoff's initial lead of 59 votes over the incumbent Henry shrunk by four after the Volusia County elections office completed the machine recount late last night (November 14th).

The victory margin of .08% is enough to trigger the manual recount by state law, according to Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis (right).

Although the process was tedious and time-consuming, I am pleased to present the results that could not have been accomplished without dedicated canvassing board members and Department of Elections employees,” Lewis added.

Florida's House District 26 is based in Daytona Beach and does not stretch outside the Volusia border.

All the other Volusia and Flagler-based state House and Senate seats which were up for grabs in this election were won by Republicans, meaning that the local GOP remains in position for a midterm sweep should Fetterhoff's lead hold up after the manual recount.

61,143 votes were cast in that race, not counting 9 overvotes and 1,845 undervotes. 30,599 went to Fetterhoff - a gain of 8 votes from the official results before the recount - and 30,544 are for Henry, who gained 12 more votes.

The overvotes and undervotes will get scrutinized by election workers when the manual recount begins at 9 a.m. today (November 15th), possibly increasing the number of votes counted in that race.

VOLUSIA COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1

Incumbent Pat Patterson will have to give up his spot to Barb Girtman.

Her initial lead of 177 votes shrunk by two following the machine recount, but her .42% victory margin is still large enough to avoid the manual recount under state law. Any victory margin at or under .25% automatically triggers the manual recount.

41,105 votes were cast in that race, with 24 overvotes and 5,870 undervotes. 20,640 went to Girtman and 20,465 to Patterson. Girtman gained no votes during the machine recount, while Patterson gained two.

Patterson won re-election to the VCC in 2014 after two separate stints in the Florida House of Representatives (1998-2000 & 2002-2010). He was also a VCC member from 1995-1998, including as Chair in 1997.

EDGEWATER CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1

Incumbent Christine Power hangs on to her seat by 28 votes over Rocky Dorcy, which is no different than after the official results were released a week ago.

Power received 4,315 votes, while Dorcy got 4,287. There was one overvote and 1,577 undervotes in that race.

THE OTHER RACES

SENATOR: Florida Governor Rick Scott defeats incumbent Bill Nelson by 22,961 votes in Volusia, but the results from the other 66 Florida counties need to be added in before it's known if a manual recount will be needed. The statewide margin of victory for the Republican (Scott) is close enough currently to automatically trigger the manual recount.

Scott has 125,724 votes and Nelson has 102,763. There were 65 overvotes and 1,707 undervotes.

Scott gained 18 votes in the recount compared to the official results prior to the recount. Nelson got 19 more votes.

GOVERNOR: Former United States House Representative Ron DeSantis beats Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 24,341 votes in Volusia. Like the Senate race, the results from the other state counties need to be added in before it's known if a manual recount will be needed. Currently, DeSantis' margin of victory statewide is big enough to avoid the manual recount.

DeSantis has 124,819 votes and Gillum has 100,478. There were 407 overvotes and 1,586 undervotes.

DeSantis got 17 more votes than the official results prior to the recount. Gillum gained 18 votes.

AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: Democrat Nikki Fried leads Republican Matt Caldwell by a narrow margin statewide, but Caldwell took the win in Volusia by 21,877 votes. Fried's margin of victory is within the limit for a manual recount.

Caldwell has 122,716 votes and Fried has 100,839. There were 30 overvotes and 7,409 undervotes.

Fried gained 17 votes in the recount compared to the official results before the recount. Caldwell got 16 more votes.

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