BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) - Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott has won re-election, turning back former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist - who was trying to return to office as a Democrat.
The Associated Press declared Scott the winner Tuesday night with nearly all precincts reporting. He held nearly 49 percent of the vote to Crist's nearly 47 percent.
The 61-year-old Scott overcame a late deficit in some polls to post the win. His campaign emphasized the drop in the state's unemployment rate and criticized Crist as a political opportunist and supporter of President Barack Obama. In the final days, Scott and his wife put almost $13 million of their own money into the campaign. Scott is a multimillionaire who made his fortune as the founder and one-time CEO of a hospital chain.
Crist couldn't overcome Scott's attacks blaming him for the state's financial problems during his term from 2007 to 2011. Crist blamed the troubles on the global economic meltdown.
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