The initial election results showed Scott leading Nelson by 12,562 votes, or 0.15% of the vote. Under Florida law, a manual recount is triggered if election results show a margin of less than 0.5% of the vote. Both candidates filed lawsuits in connection with the recount. After the recount, Florida elections officials announced on November 18, 2018, that Scott had prevailed. Scott received 50.05% of the vote to Nelson's 49.93%; the margin of victory was 10,033 votes out of 8.19 million votes cast. Nelson then conceded. It was the most expensive Senate race in the nation in 2018.