Florida Sen. Bill Nelson has been in office for more than 40 years, and he should now "preserve his dignity" and step down rather than continue to fight the vote counts that could determine if he defeated Gov. Rick Scott to keep his seat, state Attorney General Pam Bondi contended Friday.
"Bill Nelson has been in office for countless numbers of years," Bondi, a Republican, told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
"He served our state and I really think he should preserve his dignity and not be known ― I don't want his legacy to be as a paw for the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and that's what I feel like is happening for the Democratic Party."
Nelson has "effectively shut down" his campaign office and the AG's office has heard very little from him, even as lawsuits are being brought by the DNC.
"All of the civil suits could have been brought prior to this election," said Bondi. "Why did they wait? Because Bill Nelson lost...we're confident that Gov. Scott will remain Senator-Elect Scott."
On Friday, a hand recount began after ballot counting machines showed Scott and Nelson separated by fewer than 13,000 votes. Under state law, a hand review is mandated when the margin is .25 percentage points or below, and with the current totals, Scott leads Nelson by .15 percentage points.
Meanwhile, Bondi said the Department of State has set up a hotline for reports of evidence of voter fraud, and hope people will call in if they have seen any evidence.