It was a hard-fought primary across two geographically disparate areas, in a district with newly added unfamiliar turf.
And good lord, was it close — 73 votes close.
The two leading candidates in the four-person Florida Senate District 19 Democratic primary were on edge Tuesday night as returns came in. State Reps. Ed Narain (D-Tampa) and Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg) were within a few dozen votes of one another, with Rouson slightly in the lead. A recount was mandated.
Rouson won.
"I'm glad to see some finality," Rouson told the Tampa Bay Times. "I'm anxious to represent the people of this district who came out and voted and expressed themselves. I'm grateful to all of the constituents."
The results won't be certified until Thursday, but election officials did confirm Friday that, after two recounts, that the vote tally had not changed.
This means that Rouson has likely won the seat itself as well, as the District is largely Democratic and his Republican opponent, John "Mr. Manners" Houman, hasn't raised any money and doesn't appear to have extensive support from his party as yet.
This article appears in Sep 1-8, 2016.