Business executive and political newcomer Rick Scott narrowly defeated Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary for Florida governor, the Associated Press reported late Tuesday.
Scott accepted the GOP nomination in a Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina hotel ballroom filled with supporters, and set them chanting his campaign slogan, "Let's get to work."
Moments earlier, McCollum refused to quit, rallying supporters and urging them to prepare "for a long night."
As of 11:30 p.m., Scott had collected 592,346 or 46.4 percent of 1,275,458 votes cast, compared to 553,631 for McCollum.
The Democratic primary for governor, however, was not as close. Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink pulled away early and was declared the winner shortly after 9 p.m. by the AP.
Sink collected 654,537 or 76.8 percent of 851,418 votes cast as of 11:30 p.m. Sink's rival, Brian P. Moore, had 196,881 votes.
Sink will face Scott and Lawton "Bud" Chiles III, son of the deceased former Florida governor, in November. Chiles is running with no party affiliation.
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