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Republicans hang on to tight gubernatorial seats, Dem in Ga. refuses to concede

Posted at 8:49 PM, Nov 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-07 01:49:41-05

While Democrats are projected to take control of the US House, the party hoped that a blue wave would include winning a number of major gubernatorial seats. 

But in two larger states, Republican candidates hung on and won in Florida and Ohio. This came as some polls showed Democrats leading in those states heading into Tuesday's Election Day. 

In Florida, Republican Ron DeSantis held off Andrew Gillum, the Democrat who is the mayor of Tallahassee. DeSantis held a 1-percent advantage with more than 99 percent reporting. 

In Ohio, Republican state Attorneys General Mike DeWine defeated Democrat Richard Cordray. Cordray was previously appointed to the Consumer Protection Finance Board by President Barack Obama. DeWine had previously defeated Cordray in 2010 for the state's AG position. 

In a fierce battle in Georgia, Democrat Stacey Abrams said she is vowing to continue her fight despite trailing Republican Brian Kemp by a 51 to 48 margin late on Tuesday. The only county with outstanding votes remaining is the Democratic stronghold of Fulton County, which includes the city of Atlanta. 

If Kemp falls below the 50-percent threshold, the race will go to a runoff. 

Kemp has come under fire from Abrams' campaign for administering the election as secretary of state while running for governor. 

Abrams' campaign added that they expect that there are still nearly 45,000 uncounted votes in Democratic-leaning counties from paper ballots.

In Iowa, Republican Kim Reynolds, who was previously the lieutenant governor of the state, defeated Democrat Fred Hubbell in a tight race. 

Although the results were disappointing for Democrats in Florida in Ohio, the Democrats have turned over at least four governor's seats on Tuesday. In Kansas, Democrat Laura Kelly is projected to win the seat there. 

Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham was elected to New Mexico's governor seat. J.B. Pritzker, a first-time candidate and venture capitalist, won the governor's seat in Illinois. Former Michigan state senator and prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer was elected as the governor of Michigan.