2018 Election Results: Scott Wins Senate By Less Than 1 Percent

TALLAHASSEE, FL – With midnight looming and less than a 1 percent voting margin between the two candidates for U.S. Senate, no one was sure if a winner would be declared Tuesday.

Then outgoing Florida Gov. Rick Scott walked to the podium at his election night party in Naples and declared himself the winner.

As of midnight, the race had not been officially called. With all precincts reporting, Scott led incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson by just 34,537 votes. Scott had 50.2 percent of the votes to Nelson's 49.8 percent,

Nelson was a no-show at his election night party in Orlando. His campaign organizers said they were waiting on the tabulation of mail-in votes from Broward, Duvall and Miami-Dade counties.

The current 0.4 percent margin between the candidates is enough to force a recount.

See related story: Florida Sen. Nelson Demands Recount; Gov. Scott Wants To Move On

Scott, however, said he was ready to move on.

"The campaigns I've been involved in have been divisive and tough," he said. "Way too nasty. It's time to come together and leave this campaign behind us."

The race was not only the most expensive Senate race in the country, it was one of the most contentious as well.

During the candidates' single debate, Nelson called Scott a “walking conflict of interest” and a serial liar.

While Scott characterized the 76-year-old Nelson as a career bureaucrat with a tendency to get "confused."

Scott said he'll leave it to the political pundits to hash over the accusations and claims made during the race.

"I have no interest in looking backward," he said.

Instead, he said he's eager to do for Washington, D.C., what he did for Florida during his eight years as governor.

"I’m not going to D.C. to win a popularity contest," he said. "I’m going to D.C. to get something done. We will change, like we did in Florida, the direction of Washington, D.C."

Just as people from around the country reached out to help Florida after Hurricane Michael struck, Scott said he would like to see the same spirit of cooperation in the nation's Capitol.

"People from all over the country came to help us." he said. "They didn't ask if we were Republicans or Democrats. We can do the exact same thing in Washington."

Image: This Sept. 18, 2018 file photo shows Florida Gov. Rick Scott, center, candidate for the U.S. Senate speaking to supporters at a campaign rally in Orlando, Fla. Scott, who is challenging incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, has tried to make the election about Nelson's lengthy tenure in Washington. Instead he has been put on the defense over the environment, health care and his finances. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)