(Joe Skipper/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on Florida recount (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
Democrat Andrew Gillum says he is ending his hard-fought race for Florida governor and has congratulated Republican Ron DeSantis.
Gillum posted a live video on Facebook on Saturday afternoon in which he congratulated DeSantis. Gillum had conceded to DeSantis on election night, but retracted it after the margin between the two candidates narrowed. The race went to a legally required recount, but after an initial machine recount DeSantis still led Gillum by more than 30,000 votes.
Gillum, who is Tallahassee's mayor, isn't saying what he plans to do next.
"Stay tuned," he said in his brief remarks. Nonetheless, Gillum says he will remain politically active, adding "the fight for Florida continues."
Gillum's announcement came hours after President Donald Trump said on Twitter that Gillum will be a "strong Democrat warrior" and a "force to reckon with."
There was no immediate response from DeSantis or his campaign.
___
2:55 p.m.
A South Florida elections official says that her office has misplaced more than 2,000 ballots.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel posted video Saturday of Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes saying that 2,040 ballots had been "misfiled." Snipes did insist that the ballots were still in the elections building.
Snipes has already been under fire for the way her office has handled the election and recount.
Counties across the state are in the middle of a hand recount for two statewide races including the race for U.S. Senate.
State officials ordered a manual recount on Thursday after a machine recount showed that Republican Gov. Rick Scott led incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson by about 12,600 votes. More than 8 million voters cast ballots in the race.
__
11:50 a.m.
Officials say most of Florida's counties have finished their hand recount in the state's contentious U.S. Senate races.
State officials ordered a manual recount on Thursday after a machine recount showed that Republican Gov. Rick Scott led incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson by about 12,600 votes. More than 8 million voters cast ballots in the race.
At least 44 out of 67 counties have finished their hand recount in the Senate race. Many counties were spending Saturday doing a hand recount in another statewide race.
Counties have until noon on Sunday to report official results to the Department of State.
Several counties have posted hand recount updates on their websites. The totals for Nelson and Scott have changed slightly, but not significantly.
(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)