Higginbotham win over Kemp barely outside recount margin

TAMPA — Despite a massive spending edge and all the advantages of incumbency, Republican Al Higginbotham's race Tuesday against Democrat Pat Kemp for Hillsborough County Commission District 7 was one of the area's closest.

Higginbotham, running countywide for the first time after representing conservative east Hillsborough for eight years, won 50.3 percent of the votes cast, according to unofficial results, to 49.7 percent for Kemp. The difference is slightly more than the .5 percentage point margin that triggers an automatic recount, according to state law.

Although a recount is possible, with about 1,300 provisional ballots still to count, neither candidate expects the outcome to change.

To Higginbotham, the nail-biter illustrates the challenge of running countywide for a Republican. To Kemp, the upset she nearly pulled off shows Hillsborough voters want the expanded public transit and smart growth she pitched as campaign platforms.

"It was no surprise to me," Higginbotham said Wednesday. "We knew all along that this was going to be a close race."

Higginbotham outspent Kemp, $129,000 to $56,000. But with Democrats outnumbering Republicans countywide by more than 60,000 registered voters, he expected a close race. Within east Hillsborough's District 4, where Higginbotham couldn't run again due to term limits, Republicans hold the edge.

Higginbotham, former chairman of the Hillsborough Republican Party, also blamed local party officials for failing to run an effective ground game.

"The REC (Republican Executive Committee) didn't have the same unity this year as it had in years past," Higginbotham said.

Kemp, a community organizer and former chairwoman of Hillsborough's Democratic Party, called Higginbotham late Tuesday to thank him for running an issues-based race. She did not concede, however, and said she will pay close attention to the counting of provisional ballots this week.

The ballots will be counted starting today, according to Gerri Kramer, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections office. By Saturday, the office will know if Higginbotham's margin dropped into recount territory.

Even then, Kemp does not expect a miracle. She said she was proud to have come so close to upending a sitting commissioner with more money, in a year in which Republicans fared better across the board.

"My instincts that this could be a very competitive race proved true," Kemp said. "A few votes could have changed it."