Florida congressman Allen West trails his Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy by .8 percent and, though Murphy has declared victory, West isn’t conceding. West is behind by a margin greater than the .5 percent required to trigger a recount, but he is demanding one nonetheless, citing vote-counting irregularities. West campaign manager Tim West said in a statement:
The St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections office clearly ignored proper rules and procedures, and the scene at the Supervisor’s office last night could only be described as complete chaos. Given the hostility and demonstrated incompetence of the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections, we believe it is critical that a full hand recount of the ballots take place in St. Lucie County
If West succeeds in forcing a recount, this will be an interesting fight. After all, West has never been known for approaching controversy diplomatically. He’s the one who told us President Obama was serving America a “crap sandwich” with a smile; who told Debbie Wasserman-Schultz that she is “the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the U.S. House of Representatives; who told a crowd of supporters that President Obama wants Americans to “be his slave”; and who referred to President Obama as a “low-level socialist agitator.”