DORAL, Fla. – A recount is underway in South Florida following a tight race in the election.
Democrat Robert Asencio edged out Republican David Rivera by fewer than 100 votes for the Florida House District 118 seat.
Both candidates were inside Miami-Dade election headquarters in Doral Monday as the recount began.
By day's end Monday, all but the Early Voting ballots had been recounted. Elections officials plan to complete the machine recount Thursday.
Both candidates have called the other side out for alleged dirty campaigning.
"Mudslinging, negative attacks, lies, distortion," Rivera alleged.
"He's the one who created the false campaign against me," countered Asencio.
Rivera is a former U.S. representative for Florida's 25th congressional district and was a former Florida state representative who served District 112.
Asencio is a former law enforcement officer and military veteran.
The outcome of the race will reconfigure the balance of power in the Florida statehouse this year. With Rivera, Gov. Rick Scott will have a veto-proof Republican super majority. With Asencio, the Democrats will have 41 votes to potentially override Scott by one.
If the machine recount results come in with less than a .25 percent difference, election officials will, by law, do a second recount by hand.