Romney on path to probable loss in Florida
Updated 6:08 p.m. Eastern Time
As election officers continue to tally votes in Florida, Romney's campaign in the state acknowledged today that it didn't have high hopes for coming out on top there, according to the Miami Herald.
Mitt Romney could not have won the presidency even with Florida's electoral votes, and he conceded the race to President Obama late Tuesday night. It looks like he also fell short in the Sunshine State: The president currently leads there by a slim margin of slightly over 50,000 votes, but many of those which have yet to be counted come from Democratic strongholds such as Miami-Dade and Broward counties. According to the Herald, the number of uncounted ballots from more conservative-friendly counties, such as Duval County and Palm Beach County, is not likely to outweigh the president's margin.
The Florida Democratic Party -- though not the Obama campaign, as has been erroneously reported elsewhere -- claimed victory in a statement Tuesday.
"On behalf of Florida Democrats, I wish President Barack Obama congratulations on his re-election and on winning Florida's 29 electoral votes," said Chairman Rod Smith. Obama campaign manager Jim Messina told reporters Thursday the campaign expects to "be the official winner in Florida later today," but the campaign has not claimed victory.
Mr. Obama won Florida in 2008, but many considered it a relative long shot for him this time around. State polls toward the end of the campaign were varied, with some showing Romney five or six points ahead, and others showing a close race with Mr. Obama holding a slim lead.
"The numbers in Florida show this was winnable," Brett Doster, Florida adviser for Romney, told the Herald in a statement. "We thought based on our polling and range of organization that we had done what we needed to win. Obviously, we didn't, and for that I, and every other operative in Florida has a sick feeling that we left something on the table. I can assure you this won't happen again."
The national Romney campaign is still waiting for the votes to be fully counted in Florida and -- though it doesn't make any real difference -- has not conceded the state.
