Florida's Democratic Party has finally declared victory for US President Barack Obama in the closely divided battleground state, as he clung to a narrow but apparently insurmountable lead in the glacially slow count of votes from Tuesday's election.
If Obama wins Florida officially, it will add to his Electoral College margin and he will have won all key US swing states except North Carolina, which he carried in 2008.
"On behalf of Florida Democrats, I wish President Barack Obama congratulations on his re-election and on his winning Florida's 29 electoral votes," Florida Democratic Party chairman Rod Smith said on Thursday.
In a tacit concession, Republican Party of Florida spokesman Brian Burgess said he and other Mitt Romney supporters were "obviously not happy with the result".
"But given the wave that we saw all over the country, we're glad that we gave them enough of a fight in Florida to prolong the battle here as long as we did," Burgess said.
As of Thursday evening, Obama had 49.92 per cent of the statewide vote, versus 49.22 per cent for Romney, the Florida Division of Elections said.
