Locklin Rejects Concession in Florida's 26th District After Disputed Tally
Democratic challenger Nicole Locklin is demanding a recount and public records after her lead disappeared, narrowing the margin to 1,702 votes.
By Julia Wang ·
Democratic congressional candidate Nicole Locklin declared on Monday that she will not concede the race for Florida's 26th district, asserting that the election remains undecided until every ballot is verified. She is challenging the victory of incumbent U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who declared his win last Wednesday after defeating Locklin and an independent candidate.
Locklin stated that her campaign investigations into election anomalies are still open. She requested that all outstanding ballots be counted and reported accurately, noting that the race turned out much closer than projections suggested. The district map was redrawn earlier this year to include portions of Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
According to the Florida Division of Elections data from Monday morning, Diaz-Balart holds a lead of 1,702 votes out of 229,804 cast. The incumbent has received 114,578 votes, or 49.86 percent. Locklin has 112,874 votes, or 49.12 percent. Deborah Ann Meidinger Hosey, the candidate with no party affiliation, has 2,352 votes, or 1.02 percent.
Locklin claims she led by 2,545 votes at the end of Election Day. She said this advantage vanished without explanation. The Associated Press attributed the drop to a manual data entry error that was quickly corrected. Locklin said she has not received evidence to support that claim and has heard conflicting accounts from the AP and the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections.
The supervisors of elections in Broward and Miami-Dade counties said they are reviewing outstanding ballots. They stated that the remaining votes are not sufficient to change the outcome. Locklin's team is demanding that the Miami-Dade SOE provide data via public records requests. She said the office is required by state law to supply that information.
Locklin warned that if she does not receive the evidence early next week, her team will take legal action to force production. She argued that voters deserve transparency and accountability. The AP has not called the race, stating it does so only when the trailing candidate has no path to victory.
The result in the 26th district will not alter the balance of power in Washington. Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress. The party now holds a 254 to 163 majority over Republicans, with only 18 races remaining to be decided.
