At last: The end of Romney and West in Florida

By Mustang Bobby

From The Miami Herald:

President Barack Obama was declared the winner of Florida's 29 electoral votes Saturday, ending a four-day count with a razor-thin margin that narrowly avoided an automatic recount that would have brought back memories of 2000.

No matter the outcome, Obama had already clinched re-election and now has 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.

The Florida Secretary of State's Office said that with almost 100 percent of the vote counted, Obama led Republican challenger Mitt Romney 50 percent to 49.1 percent, a difference of about 74,000 votes.

Karl Rove is running down the hall demanding to see proof.

Speaking of not giving up...

Firebrand GOP Rep. Allen West, whose made-for-TV rhetoric made him a prized voice of extreme conservatives, has been ousted by political newcomer Patrick Murphy, according to the state's vote count Saturday, but the incumbent was not planning to concede.

In complete but unofficial numbers, Murphy held a 2,442-vote lead in the District 18 race. His 50.4 percent of the vote was above the threshold for a recount, but West's campaign said they would press forward.

"We're simply not going to just walk away from the race until we see that the numbers add up," West campaign manager Tim Edson said.

Thirty years from now, I expect we'll find Mr. West holed up on some island in the Keys, still refusing to give up.

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)