MIAMI, Fla. - President Barack Obama is claiming victory in Florida, while the Romney campaign is sending mixed signals. Still, the state has not yet certified the election results.
Obama's campaign issued a statement late Thursday afternoon saying they had won Florida.
The Miami Herald reported Thursday that a senior advisor to the Romney campaign admitted the former Massachusetts governor lost the race in the sunshine state. “The numbers in Florida show this was winnable,” Brett Doster, Florida advisor for Romney, said in a statement to The Miami Herald. “We thought based on our polling and range of organization that we had done what we needed to win. Obviously, we didn’t, and for that I and every other operative in Florida has a sick feeling that we left something on the table. I can assure you this won’t happen again.”
Action News spoke with two members of the Romney campaign over the phone. Neither would confirm that he had conceded the race for the state. Media outlets have yet to make a call for Florida.
Obama led Romney 49.9 percent to 49.3 percent or by about 52,000 votes. Obama does not need Florida because he has won an electoral vote majority in the rest of the country.
Florida is still undecided largely due to long voting lines on election night, a deluge of last-minute absentee ballots and other assorted problems.
