Republican DeSantis secures Florida governor's seat after rival Gillum concedes

Democratic Florida gubernatorial nominee and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum concedes the race to U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis at his midterm election night rally in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Colin Hackley

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Democrat Andrew Gillum, who had sought to become Florida's first black governor, conceded on Saturday, after a recount showed he had no way of catching his Republican rival Ron DeSantis, an ally of President Donald Trump.

Gillum, the 39-year-old liberal mayor of Tallahassee, had initially conceded the race on the night of the Nov. 6 election to DeSantis, a conservative former congressman. But Gillum later withdrew that concession when the results showed the two were close enough to trigger an automatic recount.