ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- President Barack Obama was declared the winner of Florida's 29 electoral votes Saturday, ending a four-day count with a razor-thin margin that narrowly avoided an automatic recount that would have brought back memories of the 2000 election.
No matter the outcome, Obama had already clinched re-election and now has 332 electoral votes to Republican challenger Mitt Romney's 206.
The Florida Secretary of State's Office said that with almost 100 per cent of the vote counted, Obama led Romney 50 per cent to 49.1 per cent, a difference of about 74,000 votes. That was over the half-per cent margin where a computer recount would have been automatically ordered unless Romney had waived it.
