Update (November 17, 2018): Andrew Gillum has conceded in Florida's gubernatorial race.
Gillum posted video of his concession speech, where he stood alongside his wife R. Jai Gillum, to Facebook on Saturday evening.
"R.J. and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Mr. DeSantis on becoming the next governor of the great state of Florida," Gillum said in the video. "This has been the journey of our lives."
Gillum congratulated Republican challenger Ron DeSantis on his victory and thanked his ardent supporters.
“Nobody wanted to be governor more than me, but this was not just about an election cycle,” Gillum added. “This was about creating the kind of change in this state that really allows for the voices of everyday people to show up again in our government, in our state and in our communities.”
On Thursday, USA Today reported that a machine recount put DeSantis just ahead of Gillum with 4,075,879 votes to the Democrat's 4,042,195.
Florida mandates ballots be counted by hand following a machine recount should a candidate's margin of victory be 0.25 percent or less. As DeSantis has a margin of victory of 0.42 percent, he will be Florida's next governor.
Last Saturday, Gillum retracted his initial concession to DeSantis as the state declared they'd be conducting a recount of votes.
Both R. Jai and Andrew have said it won't be the last we see of them.
Original: After making national news for being the first Black candidate for governor in the state of Florida, Andrew Gillum was defeated by now elected Governor Ron DeSantis.
Gillum who ran on such progressive issues like gun control, taxing corporations, and criminal justice gained endorsements from key Democrat leaders like former President Barack Obama, and Bernie Sanders. As well as celebrity endorsements from major stars like Rihanna and Diddy. But, even with the spotlight, Gillum's campaign still fell short.
The final count is still to be determined, and news outlets like CNN were still calling the race "too close to call" when Gillum, who was 70,000 votes behind DeSantis, conceded the race.
Watch his concession speech below:
"Even though I won't be the next governor of Florida, I still plan to be on the front lines," Gillum said in his concession speech.
"Are we going to get up and fight for the things we believe? are we going to get up and say that we still deserve our seat at the table?" he added, highlighting the importance of having a seat at a table, and how his loss shouldn't stop people from driving impact in their own ways.
Gillum who begin his political career at a young age as student body president at Florida's A&M University has proven to have the resilience of what it takes to withstand defeat. It's far from over for the Democratic candidate from Florida.
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