Martinez concedes

Raul Martinez, the former mayor of Hialeah, lost his first election ever. Late Tuesday, Martinez essentially conceded the race to incumbent Lincoln Diaz-Balart in a short, somber speech in Spanish and English in front of several dozen supporters.

Martinez never said Diaz-Balart had won, but the words he used made it sound like Martinez knew he had lost.

"It doesn't look good and I'm not a person who would say let's wait until the last minute [for results],'' Martinez said in Spanish as supporters clapped. "We did the maximum that could be done but one could not achieve what one wanted.''

- ALFONSO CHARDY

After the speech, Martinez talked at length to the reporters in the room … again leaving the strong impression he conceded the race to Diaz-Balart, though he never directly said he had lost.

Asked how he felt after losing his first race, Martinez said: "When you look at 10 wins and one loss, or maybe loss, it's not a bad record.''

He went on to say that he now will turn to family and private business.

"Be with my family,'' he said when asked what he planned to do next. "I gave up business and community. I gave up being with the family...I've seen it all. Been there, done that...I feel honored. I feel great..relieved to a certain extent.''