LIVE RESULTS: FOX 13 calls Florida for Trump
TAMPA (FOX 13) - The race for president in Florida was as tight as predicted, but FOX 13 political editor Craig Patrick believes the state's 29 electoral votes are going to Donald Trump.
All evening, vote counting in Palm Beach and Broward counties was lagging far behind the rest of the state. The Republican nominee was clinging to a narrow lead statewide, but with counting still underway in those two heavily Democratic counties, it was too close to call.
By 10 p.m., though, 99 percent of the vote had been counted statewide, and Hillary Clinton remained 140,000 votes behind Trump.
"Yes, Hillary Clinton gained some votes, but not enough to make a difference," Craig Patrick observed. "There just are not enough votes in South Florida...based on extrapolations of all of the numbers, it just isn't there."
LINK: Zoom in to Florida on the interactive presidential results map
In the Bay Area, Trump took every county except for Hillsborough. In fact, Clinton may only take nine of the Sunshine State's counties -- but it could be enough to give her the win in this critical state.
Trump has campaigned heavily in Florida, drawing large crowds to rallies around the state. Clinton did swing through Tampa a week ago, but her campaign has relied on Vice President Joe Biden and her running mate, Tim Kaine, to stump for her here.
Most political observers feel Trump needs Florida's 29 electoral votes to win the presidency. Clinton is more likely to be able to win without Florida, but it would make a tight race even tighter.
In other Florida races, voters approved the state's medical marijuana ballot initiative but rejected a solar power amendment. Meanwhile, Marco Rubio won re-election to the Senate, while former governor Charlie Crist resurrected his career with election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Stay with FOX 13 for live coverage throughout the night.