According to CBS Miami, soon-to-be-former Congressman Jason Mariner (R-Fla.) refused to concede after losing his seat to Congresswoman-elect Cherfilus-McCormick by 59 points on Jan. 11.
McCormick won the race for Florida’s 20th Congressional District seat with 79 percent of the vote. Despite her winning by a landslide, Mariner refused to admit defeat.
“Now they called the race, I did not win,” said Mariner. “So they say, but that does not mean that they lost either, it does not mean that we lost.”
Regardless, Congresswoman-elect Cherfilus-McCormick won by a considerable margin.
“We know what was the difference,” she said. “. We had a message for the people and we fought for the people. We were on the ground. We were knocking on doors. We employed the people – most of the money went towards stimulating the economy and believing in the people.”
“No one thought that a little girl like me that was growing up in the district who was raising a daughter by myself at a time would ever be here, so it means so much to be here. The daughter of immigrants who watched my parents’ night and day as taxi cab drivers and a maid, but we made it,”
Mariner was called out on Twitter for his failure to concede despite winning less than 20 percent of the vote by Democrat Jon Cooper.
“SORE LOSER,” he wrote. “Florida Republican Jason Mariner, who was SOUNDLY DEFEATED by 59 points in a congressional special election, REFUSES to concede. Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick defeated Mariner by a 78.7% to 19.6% margin in Florida’s 20th District.”
SORE LOSER: Florida Republican Jason Mariner, who was SOUNDLY DEFEATED by 59 points in a congressional special election, REFUSES to concede. Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick defeated Mariner by a 78.7% to 19.6% margin in Florida's 20th District.
— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) January 17, 2022
BREAKING: Florida Republican Jason Mariner refuses to concede a congressional race to Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick… even though she won 79 PERCENT OF THE VOTE!
Why? Because he discovered "stuff", but refuses to say what.
What stuff do you want to say to him?? pic.twitter.com/17grAH6eiK
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) January 17, 2022
Before the polls even closed, Mariner filed a lawsuit with the claim that ballots in two counties had problems. He also added that he’d discovered more news but failed to elaborate.
Regardless of the loser’s comments, McCormick claimed victory over Mariner. She tearfully thanked everyone who supported her and later told CBS that she was unfazed by Mariner’s refusal to concede.
“Well, this wouldn’t be my first time running against an opponent who is refusing to concede, so it’s not our first time, and at the end of the day nothing can stop the motion.”
The final tally was 78.7 percent to 19.6 percent.
