LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- Nine days after Kentucky's Republican primary for governor, the twists and turns aren't over yet.
Though a statewide recanvass Thursday did not change a single vote in Matt Bevin's 83 vote lead over James Comer, Comer's campaign is leaving open the possibility of a recount.
With a recount filing deadline at the close of business Friday, Comer's campaign said he will announce Friday afternoon "the next steps he will take in this race."
Bevin is no longer waiting for Comer, Kentucky's Agriculture Commissioner, to concede, instead asserting himself as the Republican nominee in a statement released by his campaign.
"It is an honor to be the Republican nominee for Governor," Bevin said in the statement. "I have tremendous respect for Commissioner Comer and am glad that we went through the recanvass process so that the integrity of our election was validated."
Boards of Elections in all 120 Kentucky counties double-checked vote results on Thursday, confirming that the totals tabulated on voting machines matched the vote totals transmitted to the Kentucky Board of Elections.
"There have been no substantial changes," Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D-Kentucky) announced to reporters at the state capitol.
"We believe that the state board of elections will be certifying on June 8 the vote totals as you will see online today," Grimes said. "And it will be Matt Bevin will be the nominee for the Republican party of Kentucky."
Comer has at least two options open to him, filing suit for a full recount of the 214,000 ballots cast in the primary, or--if Comer suspects any irregularities in the election--he can also file an election contest.
Despite the razor thin 83 vote margin, Grimes downplayed the possibility that a recount would change the outcome of the race.
