Congressman Allen West Concedes Election to Democratic Opponent

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 20, 2012   |   12:40PM   |   Washington, DC

Congressman Allen West, a pro-life African-American congressman from Florida, is conceding the race in Florida’s 18th District to his pro-abortion Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy. A recount of ballots in his district failed to show him making the gains necessary to close the gap from election night.

This morning, West released the following statement:

“For two weeks since Election Day, we have been working to ensure every vote is counted accurately and fairly.  We have made progress towards that goal, thanks to the dedication of our supporters and their unrelenting efforts to protect the integrity of the democratic process.  While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election.

While there are certainly still inaccuracies in the results, and the actions of the St. Lucie County and Palm Beach County Supervisors of Elections rightly raise questions in my mind and for many voters, after much analysis and this past weekend’s recount in St. Lucie County, our legal team does not believe there are enough over-counted, undercounted or fraudulent votes to change the outcome of the election.

While a contest of the election results might have changed the vote totals, we do not have evidence that the outcome would change.  Given the extremely high evidentiary hurdles involved in a successful challenge, I will not ask my generous supporters to help fund a drawn-out, expensive legal effort with little chance of success. Therefore, we will not contest the certification or challenge the seating of Congressman-elect Murphy.

Serving the people in the House of Representatives has been among the highest honors of my life, but this seat does not belong to me, or for that matter, to any individual.  It belongs to the people.

I want to congratulate my opponent, Patrick Murphy, as the new Congressman from the 18th Congressional District. I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.

CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!

 

West was able to get votes in St. Lucie County recounted, but the recount had Murphy increasing his lead to the point that it remained above the margin that would trigger and automatic recount.

West also appeared on “Fox and Friends” this morning, where he was asked whether he would run again for his seat. He replied that he is first looking forward to spending time with his family and would “make that decision as a family as far as where we’re going to move ahead.”