The Republican Party pads its majority in the U.S. Senate as Democrat Betty
Castor concedes the race in Florida to Mel Martinez.
The two candidates were vying to replace retiring Democrat Sen. Bob
Graham.
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Martinez edged out Castor by
fewer than a 100,000 votes to claim 49 percent to Castor’s 48 percent,
according to Florida Department of
State election results.
Veteran Party candidate Dennis Bradley picked up the remaining 2 percent.
“I stand as a living testament that in America all is possible,”
Martinez told supporters gathered at a hotel in his home town of Orlando
just after 1 a.m. Eastern. “If you believe in the American dream of freedom
and opportunity and have an abiding faith in God, all things are possible.”
The threat of a recount and protracted legal battle loomed as Castor
initially dug her heels in.
“We want every vote to be counted in this state before there is an
absolute decision of this race,” Castor told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
following Martinez’ declaration of victory.
Hours later, Castor conceded defeat.
“This is as close as it gets, in my humble estimation,” she told
reporters in Tampa, according to the Associated Press. “It’s not completely
over but realistically, truthfully, it would be very difficult to make up
the difference.”
Martinez, former U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary for the
Bush administration was recruited into the race by the White House.
He becomes the first Cuban-American elected to the U.S. Senate.
Martinez was expected to get a boost from the state’s large Hispanic
population while Castor hoped for help from women. In fact, about six in 10
Hispanics voted for Martinez, while about 54 percent of women voters went
for Castor, according to an Associated Press exit poll.
Much like the presidential race, this bitter Senate campaign often
focused on the war on terror.
In 1996, Castor put former University of South Florida professor Sami
Al-Arian, who was under investigation by the FBI, on paid administrative
leave. Al-Arian awaits trial in January on a 50-count federal terrorism
indictment, stemming from Palestinian Islamic Jihad operations he allegedly
managed with several others from Tampa.
The candidates aired tit-for-tat ads in which Castor took credit for
ridding the university of terrorists while Martinez accused her of being
soft on terror.
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