Tea Party Stalwart Allen West Concedes
Published at
Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Allen West, a Florida Tea Party Republican who rode the wave of anti-spending fever to Congress in 2010, has conceded to Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy, who will take his seat as the youngest member of the 113th Congress in January.
West conceded in a statement, while saying “there are certainly still inaccuracies in the results.”
“For two weeks since Election Day, we have been working to ensure every vote is counted accurately and fairly,” West said. “While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election.”
“While a contest of the election results might have changed the vote totals, we do not have evidence that the outcome would change,” West continued. “I want to congratulate my opponent, Patrick Murphy, as the new congressman from the 18th Congressional District. I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.”
Murphy maintained a considerable lead while provisional and absentee ballots were counted, but West forged ahead with legal challenges.
“I appreciate Congressman West’s gracious concession today,” Murphy said Tuesday in a statement. “To those who supported my opponent, my door is open and I want to hear your voice. I campaigned on a message of reaching across the aisle to get things done for the people of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches, and that is as important in this district as it is in Washington. I am excited and honored to get to work.”
West is only the third Tea Party Republican to lose on Election Day, but he’s the 10th Tea Party incumbent to vacate a seat in the House. Another Tea Party lawmaker, Jeff Landry, is in a runoff race with another GOP incumbent in Louisiana, but he placed second during the general election and is likely to lose the runoff. At least 49 members of the House Tea Party caucus won re-election.
Murphy is the vice president of Coastal Environmental Services, which specializes in disaster relief and environmental cleanup. He also spent six months cleaning up oil in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP spill in 2010.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio