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EDlection2018: This is one of several dozen races that could go on to influence state or federal education policy. Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox; sign up for 91涩漫 Newsletter.

The ghost of the returns: Florida鈥檚 hard-fought U.S. Senate race, which had focused extensively on education, appears to be headed to a recount as of mid-day Wednesday.

Republican Rick Scott, currently the state鈥檚 governor, is leading sitting Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by about 30,000 votes, which is which is 0.38 percent of votes cast, according to state records. Florida law triggers an automatic recount if the margin of victory is under 0.5 percent.

Scott鈥檚 campaign said the race is over and the call for a recount is 鈥渁 sad way for Bill Nelson to end his career,鈥� . Republicans have already cleared a hurdle to maintain their majority in the Senate, but flipping a seat red in a pivotal electoral state like Florida carries special significance.

(Keep up with our liveblog here for more updates on what鈥檚 happening in Senate and other races across the country.)

The race had focused extensively on education, including spending, national rankings of the state鈥檚 schools, and school safety and gun control after the Parkland shooting earlier this year.

In September, Scott touting what he said were Florida鈥檚 鈥渇irst-in-the-nation鈥� test scores in 4th and 8th grade, AP classes, and 鈥渃ollege education鈥� plus highest-ever spending on schools. Nelson , charging that Scott had cut over $1 billion from public schools, leading to a ranking of 40th among the states, and a shortage of teachers.

In reality, , neither was totally correct, with Scott fudging Florida鈥檚 No. 1 spot in terms of growth on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests for overall proficiency, and AP class enrollment instead of a better benchmark 鈥� the number of students who passed AP exams with a high enough grade to earn college credit.

On spending, there was a substantial cut under Scott鈥檚 watch, most of which happened during the Great Recession, but it鈥檚 largely been restored. And while per-pupil funding is at its highest ever, it鈥檚 still far below the national average.

The two also about gun control and school safety, with Nelson saying Scott was too closely aligned to the NRA, and Scott saying Nelson hadn鈥檛 done enough on gun control during his nearly 18 yearsin the Senate.

EDlection2018: This is one of several dozen races that could go on to influence state or federal education policy. Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox; sign up for 91涩漫 Newsletter.

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