Florida Makes 'Unprecedented' Decision in 2 Major Races

The Florida secretary of state ordered recounts in the US Senate and governor races on Saturday, an unprecedented review of two major races in the state that took five weeks to decide the 2000 presidential election, the AP reports. Secretary Ken Detzner issued the order after the unofficial results in both races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount. His office was unaware of any other time either a governor race or US Senate race required a recount, let alone both in the same election. The unofficial results show that Republican former US Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points, which will require a machine recount of ballots.

In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points, which will require a hand recount of ballots from tabulation machines that couldn't determine which candidate got the vote. Saturday's developments return Florida to the center of a major political drama 18 years after an infamous presidential recount left control of the White House undecided for more than a month. The latest recount underscores the deep divides plaguing one of the most critical states in American politics. Beyond determining the governorship, it will decide whether Nelson returns to Washington for a fourth term or whether Republicans will pad their majority in the Senate. Click for the full story, or see whether "something looks weird" in one Florida county.

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