Gillum concedes defeat in bid for governor as Florida Senate race remains close

Florida governor race -- live results

Florida Senate race -- live results

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum has conceded defeat to Republican Ron DeSantis in the race for governor of Florida, falling short in his quest to become the first African-American governor of the Sunshine State.

In another closely watched statewide race, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott were separated by less than 60,000 votes out of a total of more than 8 million as of 1:15 a.m. in their Senate race. CBS News has not projected a victor in that contest.

Gillum addressed reporters shortly after 11 p.m. and DeSantis soon declared victory.

DeSantis' apparent victory marked a bright spot on a mixed night for Republicans, who lost control of the House while retaining control of the Senate.

Exit polls showed the priorities of Florida voters largely reflected the rest of the nation, with health care the top mention (selected by 41 percent), followed by immigration (29 percent) and the economy (16 percent). Just 11 percent of Florida voters identified gun policy as the most important issue facing the country, less than a year after the mass shooting in Parkland.

In both the gubernatorial race and the Senate contest, voters concerned with health care and gun policy broke heavily for Democrats Gillum and Nelson. Voters focused on immigration and the economy overwhelmingly supported DeSantis and Scott.

Sixteen percent of Florida voters said this was the first time they had ever voted in a midterm election. These new voters leaned toward the Democratic candidates for both statewide offices by a nearly two to one margin.

In terms of race, about 13 percent of the Florida electorate are black and the majority voted for Gillum for governor and Nelson for senator. Although the majority of white voters supported DeSantis, about 40 percent say they voted for Gillum. Similarly, about 40 percent of white voters say they voted for Nelson.

Gillum would have been Florida's first black governor, and over two-thirds of voters said that it is important to elect more racial and ethnic minorities to public office. He and DeSantis two are ideological opposites, with DeSantis an ardent Trump supporter who vows to implement the president's policies, and Gillum, a progressive who advocates expanding Medicaid and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Nelson is defending his seat against Scott, the current governor. The Florida Senate race is one of the most important in the country, and a victory for Nelson or Scott could help determine the partisan balance of the Senate. While the candidates have addressed national issues such as health care and immigration, local concerns are also playing an important part in the race, such as post-hurricane recovery and the influx of toxic "red tide" algae into Florida's waters.

President Trump visited Florida multiple times in an effort to boost DeSantis' campaign, even going twice in a single week. He told a Pensacola crowd that "this election is about safety," and hit also hit themes of the economy, immigration and the Supreme Court. The Republican is trailing Gillum in the polls by a narrow margin. Former President Obama has also campaigned in the state, telling voters Andrew Gillum will expand Medicaid coverage, and Democrats "won't let Republicans gut your health care."

An October CBS News Battleground Tracker poll showed Gillum leading DeSantis by just one point, within the margin of error.

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Gun policy not a major issue for most Florida voters

Despite the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in February, only 11 percent of Florida voters identified gun policy as the most important issue facing the country. Instead, the issue priorities of Florida voters largely reflected the same as the rest of the nation, with health care the top mention (selected by 40 percent), followed by immigration (29 percent) and the economy (16 percent).

In both the gubernatorial race and the Senate race, voters concerned with health care and gun policy broke heavily for the respective Democratic candidates, Andrew Gillum and Bill Nelson. Voters focused on immigration and the economy overwhelmingly supported Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott.

Sixteen percent of Florida voters said this was the first time they had ever voted in a midterm election. These new voters leaned toward the Democratic candidates for both statewide offices by a nearly two to one margin.

In terms of race, about 13 percent of the Florida electorate are black and the majority voted for Gillum for Governor and Nelson for Senator.

Although the majority of white voters supported DeSantis, about 40 percent say they voted for Gillum. Similarly, about 40 percent of white voters say they voted for Nelson.

Over two-thirds of voters said that it is important to elect more racial and ethnic minorities to public office.

With reporting by David R. Jones, Professor of Political Science at Baruch College, City University of New York. Melissa J. Herrmann, President, SSRS

Florida Senate race — the candidates

Bill Nelson (D, incumbent)

Nelson, first elected in 2000, is a three-time incumbent seeking his fourth term. He's currently the only Democrat in statewide office in Florida and has also served in Congress and in the Florida House of Representatives.

Nelson, a centrist, has been running on health care, a big issue in the state. He wants to protect the Affordable Care Act and expand Medicaid and has attacked Gov. Scott for opposing the health care law.

Immigration is also a key issue in the state -- Nelson has long supported comprehensive immigration reform that would give visas to some undocumented immigrants while at the same time increasing border security.

Nelson has also been blaming Scott for the rising red tide of toxic algae hurting Florida coasts.

During the summer Nelson made a controversial claim that Russians had hacked Florida's election systems before the midterms, but FBI Director Christopher Wray and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a letter to the Florida secretary of state that "we have not seen new or ongoing compromises of state or local infrastructure in Florida."

Rick Scott (R)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott was prevented by term limits from another gubernatorial stint. The former businessman has so far spent $60 million of his own money on the race to unseat Nelson.

As governor, he has criticized the Affordable Care Act, though at one point he expressed support for Medicaid expansion, though he later had a change of heart and now opposes it. Florida is one of the states that is suing to dismantle the health care law, and Scott has called for the repeal of Obamacare. However, he says that he wants to keep provisions that protect those with pre-existing conditions.

Scott has also been a proponent of lower state taxes, and he supported the tax bill passed by the Republicans at the end of 2017.

On immigration, though Scott says he opposes illegal immigration, he has a somewhat moderate position and has called on Congress to secure the immigration status of DREAMers under DACA.

Guns have also been an issue in the Florida campaign. Weeks after the Parkland school shooting in February, Scott signed a gun and school safety bill that imposed new age limits on rifle purchases, created a provision that would allow guns to be taken from an individual considered to be a threat.

Florida governor's race — the candidates

Andrew Gillum (D)

Gillum has a progressive pitch for voters -- he has supported "Medicare for All," though he recently conceded that within the state, he advocates Medicaid expansion as a way to provide health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of poorer Floridians. The GOP-led legislature has already indicated it would vote against this.

The sitting Tallahassee mayor also advocates raising corporate taxes to 7.75 percent -- a hike of 2.25 percent -- in order to raise a billion dollars for the purpose of raising teacher salaries and investing in other educational programs.

Throughout the campaign, he has been fending off accusations of corruption related to an FBI investigation into a multimillion-dollar project tied to a lobbyist friend. Gillum's campaign has denied any connection to the probe, but Republicans seized on it during the campaign. Weeks before Election Day, records released by a friend of Gillum showed that he had accepted Broadway tickets to "Hamilton" from an undercover FBI agent. Gillum acknowledged receiving the ticket but said it had been given to him by his brother, who, he believed, had traded them for concert tickets.

If he wins, he'll be the state's first black governor.

Ron DeSantis (R)

DeSantis is a Yale- and Harvard-trained former prosecutor who hails from Jacksonville, Florida. He's currently serving his fourth term as the 6th District congressman, and he was formerly a JAG lawyer in the Navy and served at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq. He is still a Navy reservist.

DeSantis is one of Florida's most conservative members of Congress, considered to be a hardliner on immigration and gun rights. He has said that if he were governor, he would have vetoed a bill that Gov. Scott signed weeks after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting that raised the age limit to buy a rifle from 18 to 21 and also implemented a three-day waiting period for rifle purchases.

On immigration, DeSantis has opposed DACA and so-called "sanctuary cities," and he has also advocated for Kate's Law, which would enact harsher penalties on undocumented immigrants who cross the border illegally after they're deported.

He's also a prominent supporter of President Trump, voting with him 94 percent of the time. In Congress he has proposed defunding special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and he has floated impeaching Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller to be special counsel. During the campaign, DeSantis attracted attention with a campaign ad showcasing his devotion to Mr. Trump. He helps his daughter build a wall out of blocks and reads Mr. Trump's "Art of the Deal" to his son.

He has also had to defend himself against accusations of racial divisiveness. On the night he won the GOP primary, DeSantis attracted wide criticism for telling Fox News that voters shouldn't "monkey this up" by electing Gillum. His campaign denied the comment was a racist remark, but the anchor who interviewed him later said on air that "we do not condone this language."

DeSantis has also been criticized for speeches he gave at events set up by controversial conservative David Horowitz, who has in the past said that Barack Obama is a Muslim, that he lost the Iraq War purposely and that the Palestinians are Nazis.