(CNN) – Republican Rick Scott has won Florida's governorship after Democratic rival Alex Sink conceded the tight race Wednesday morning.
With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Scott led by more than 53,000 votes out of more than 5 million cast, a 49-48 percent margin. Sink, the state's chief financial officer, said she and her advisers saw "no path to victory" in the outstanding count.
"I have just called Rick Scott to congratulate him," Sink told supporters in Tampa. "And I told him that especially with a very close election, he will have to work very hard to bring our state together. Because for the future of our state, I hope Rick Scott remembers that there are two and half million Floridians who do not vote for him, and that his highest priority has to be to bring our state together."
There was no immediate response from Scott, who came to national prominence by attacking the Obama administration's health-care overhaul in a series of nationally televised ads. The 57-year-old former health-care executive won the GOP nomination by beating state Attorney General Bill McCollum, who was backed by Florida and national establishment Republicans, in a bitter primary that saw Scott spending nearly $50 million of his own money.
During the campaign, Sink hit hard at Scott's tenure as head of the hospital corporation Columbia/HCA, which paid $1.7 billion for Medicare fraud under his stewardship. In their final debate, he deflected questions about his leadership of the company and accused Sink, the former president of NationsBank, of supervising employees who used deceptive sales practices to direct senior citizens into high-risk investments in exchange for kickbacks. The institution, which has since merged with Bank of America, was fined $6.7 million for its deceptive practices.
From CNN Politics
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Oops, Florida. Looks like your state is the biggest loser this election. Rubio and Scott in one night. How depressing, yes?
God help us all
NYPost Headline"SINK SUNK"
I've always enjoyed trips to Florida, even business trips.
Now going there will be even more fun.
Go Rethuglicans!
This makes no sense. Sink should have won.
A proven crook is now running the state of Florida..way to go!!! Country of Morons.
Good for Florida! This was one of those races where the losing candidate really needed to lose. Sink was a hypocrite and a liar. Nice victory here.
I'm a Hispanic-American child of Immigrants that was born here and has lived their whole life in Florida. When this nut case passes his Arizona Law here, well, there goes my civil liberties. This sate is definitely filled with morons is th
Now we have to clean up this mess from 2008...get Florida back on track go GOP.
Amazing what you can buy for $75 million dollars.
A proven criminal just became the govenor of Florida. I am embarrased to say I am a Floridian. This is a sad, sad, sad day for the intelligent population (people who voted for Alex Sink )of Floridians!
GOP domination, baby!!! Obama is gonna be one and done in 2012, too.
This is just getting sweeter by the moment!! Let the Liberal whining continue...
Shame on you Florida. Man, this is so depressing.
Memo To: Charlie Crist
From: The State of Florida
Goodbye and good riddance!
Florida sank Sink. She's sunk.
Welcome to Florida, a wholly owned subsidiary of Solantic, Inc.
Amazing what you can buy for $600 million dollars in 2008.
YES!!! Yet ANOTHER governors race in the bag for the GOP!! With redistricting in 2011 and the 2012 election on the horizon, all these governor pickups are going to make the re-election of Obozo tough indeed! The Republicans are in PERFECT POSITION going into 2012. The DemocRATS are in a heap of trouble. But that is what you get when you let the Progressive Soicialists take over your party. You have gotten exactly what you deserve.
Um TamapDude, just how LONG have you been living in Florida? The rethugliban have been the overwhelmingly in the majority for 12 years. God Himself could have run as a Dem in Florida and lost.