Rep. Allen West in close race

(Sun Sentinel) -- In one of the closest elections in Florida, freshman Republican Rep. Allen West has lost to Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy, MSNBC election projections reported early Wednesday.

At 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, Murphy addressed supporters at a hotel in Palm Beach Gardens and declared victory, TCPalm.com reported.

Allen West

"We knew it was going to be a close campaign but we had a pretty good feeling internally that we were going to win this thing," Murphy later told Sun Sentinel news partner WPTV-Ch. 5.

By shortly before 2:30 a.m., with 99 percent of precincts reporting, Murphy was leading west by more than 2000 votes.

The narrow margin could mean a challenge or a recount, depending upon the final official tally.

West, a former Army officer, beat Democrat Ron Klein in 2010 but decided to move after redistricting made re-election in his original district which encompassed parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties uncertain.

Florida's 18th Congressional District includes northern Palm Beach County and Martin and St. Lucie counties.