GOP candidate in Atlanta mayoral race seeks recount after narrow loss

The Republican candidate running in Atlanta’s mayoral race, Mary Norwood, is calling for a recount after losing the contest by just 759 votes.

“We will be asking for a recount,” said Norwood, who is pointing to absentee ballots from military members and some other ballots she believes were not included in the final count, according to multiple reports.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms declared victory early Wednesday.

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“I’m so honored to be your 60th mayor,” Bottoms reportedly told supporters at an Atlanta hotel.

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Norwood’s call for a recount falls within the state law, which allows a second-place finisher to challenge the election results if the margin of victory is less than 1 percent.

The race between Bottoms, a black woman, and Norwood, a white woman, was seen by some in the city as a contest between “the staying power of a long-dominant black political machine amid profound demographic and economic changes,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

If Norwood ultimately wins the race, she would be the city’s first-elected white female mayor. Her victory would also end the Democratic Party’s centuries-long control of the office.