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CNN Political Unit
Published: 20 November 2012

(CNN) -- Although both Republican Rep. Allen West and Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy picked up votes in a weekend recount, the unofficial numbers did not change each man's standing - with Murphy still ahead - and, regardless, the latest count may not factor into the final totals.

Following the recount of early ballots cast in St. Lucie County, Murphy had 65,841 votes to West's 52,704 in that county.

Those numbers, however, were not included in unofficial results reported on the Florida Secretary of State's website Sunday evening. The campaigns acknowledged the county did not meet a noon deadline for submitting recounted vote tallies to the state.

As of Sunday evening, Murphy led the incumbent West 166,257 to 164,353 in Florida's 18th district, which includes three counties.

Murphy's campaign manager Anthony Kusich said in a statement Sunday, "No matter which results Allen West looks at, he's lost.

"This recount should once and for all lay to rest the false claims that West somehow was 'cheated' out of a seat in Congress," Kusich continued. "It is beyond time to put this campaign behind us and put the interests of the people of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches first."

Murphy has declared victory on previous occasions after results were reported.

In his own statement on Sunday, West said, "Since Election Day we have been working for a fair and accurate accounting of the election outcome in which voters can put their full trust. We will review the results of today's recount and the other available data to determine how to proceed.

"I have been humbled by the support we have received, and the hard work of so many to ensure the integrity of this process. We look forward to the report which will be issued by the Secretary of State's auditors this coming week, which we hope will shed light on some of the outstanding issues."

West was referring to officials sent to the county by the state after irregularities surfaced, including an uncounted box of ballots and West's assertion that some early votes were counted twice.

St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker ordered late Friday that all early votes in her county be recounted beginning Saturday morning. West's court petition for a recount was denied Friday, but a canvassing board ordered the retabulation, citing sufficient concern to grant the re-examination of the votes, according to CNN affiliate WPBF.

West, a first-term congressman and retired Army lieutenant colonel, and Patrick locked in one of the country's most expensive U.S. House races, according to a ranking prepared by the Center for Responsive Politics. West raised $17 million through mid-October and Murphy brought in $3.7 million, according for Federal Election Commission records.

CNN's Robert Yoon, John Fricke, Dana Davidsen and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report

™ & © 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

 

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