Democrat Alexcia Cox declared victory late Tuesday over Republican Sam Stern in the race for Palm Beach State Attorney, ending the night ahead by a razor-thin margin, but with an unknown number of uncounted mail-in ballots that kept her opponent from fully conceding defeat.
Cox led by 4,258 of 712,412 votes counted as of 10:20 p.m., a margin of just 0.59%. If the remaining mail-in ballots break for Stern, it could be enough to trigger an automatic recount even if it doesn’t change the outcome.
A recount is mandated by law if the margin is less than 0.5%.
“I just want to thank everyone who has been so supportive and energetic about this race and what my candidacy brings to our community,” Cox said. “Now I’m looking forward to getting back to my office and getting to work.”
The race was destined to defy easy prediction. While Democrats hold a registration advantage in the county, Republicans have recently shown the ability to carry a majority. Gov. Ron DeSantis defeated Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in Palm Beach County two years ago.
This year, with Palm Beach resident Donald Trump at the top of the ticket in a state he was widely expected to — and did — win, Stern was positioned to pull off a down-ticket upset, especially with the endorsement of his opponent’s challengers for the Democratic nomination. During the campaign, Stern pointed to those candidates as current employees of the State Attorney’s Office who know Cox best.
But in the early and mail-in voting, the registration advantage was solid. Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 45,000 in Palm Beach County, and Cox’s lead was about half that. Cox went in with the support of outgoing State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who was first elected in 2012 and popular enough to not even draw a challenger when he was last re-elected four years ago.
Election Day results cut into Cox’s lead throughout the night, but she was not willing to celebrate without every vote counted. Stern, likewise, declined to comment until the results were final and the number of uncounted mail-in ballots becomes known.
Cox will be the county’s first Black and first female State Attorney. Her demographic credentials parallel the name at the top of the Democratic ticket, Kamala Harris, running to be the country’s first Black female president. The early and absentee results in Palm Beach County also favored Harris, but her lead was almost identical to Cox’s as the Election Day results were posted.
Cox, 44, is Aronberg’s current deputy chief assistant state attorney, while Stern, 43, is a former state and federal prosecutor now in private practice and who teaches trial advocacy at the University of Miami and University of Virginia law schools.
An independent, Adam Farkas, was also in the race but picking up less than 3% of the vote.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
Originally Published: November 5, 2024 at 9:49 PM EST
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