Republican outsider Rick Scott narrowly beat Democrat Alex Sink to become Florida's next governor, capping a stunning insurgent campaign and completing a GOP sweep of statewide offices.

To a burst of cheers at a victory celebration in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday afternoon, Scott declared "Florida, you're open for business."

After rocking to the beat of "This Is Our Moment" by Kenny Chesney, and flanked by his running mate, Jennifer Carroll, and his wife, Anne, Scott vowed to pursue his seven-step job-creation plan to "turn around the great state of Florida."

"This is the end of politics-as-usual in Tallahassee," he said to approving applause.

Though Scott led the election returns from start to finish, the nip-and-tuck race ran into Wednesday morning as late tabulations from Palm Beach County slowed the vote-counting process and gave Sink hope that the Democratic enclave could turn the contest her way.

Before retiring from her Tampa election party early Wednesday, Sink suggested that "hundreds of thousands" of ballots were still to be counted.

Sunshine State News was the first media outlet to call Scott's victory at 10:26 p.m., and Scott remained buoyant throughout the night

"We know we're going to win, we have won, and we look forward to getting this state back to work," Scott told cheering supporters in Fort Lauderdale at 1 a.m. "... Based on the numbers we are seeing now, after all the votes are counted, I am absolutely confident that I will be the next governor ..."

Shortly before noon Wednesday, Sink conceded.

While concluding "there is no path to victory" for her, Sink suggested that Scott did not receive a mandate. "I want to remind Rick Scott that more than 2.5 million Floridians did not vote for him," she said.

Republican Party Chairman John Thrasher issued a statement praising Scott's "hard-fought victory."

"Millions of Florida voters spoke this election, and the message was loud and clear that they want a governor who will be focused on jobs and the economy, keeping taxes low and making sure our kids receive a first-class education.

"We have great challenges ahead, but I know that Rick will dive in immediately," Thrasher said, adding Scott's campaign slogan, "Let’s get to work!”

Jack Markell, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, which, like its Republican counterpart, pumped millions of dollars into the hotly contested campaign, praised Sink "for running a strong campaign that reflected the honesty and integrity that have marked her career.”

Markell added, “We congratulate Gov.-elect Rick Scott on his victory and wish him well in moving the state forward.”

In the most expensive political race in Florida history, Scott spent $70 million of his personal fortune while the state Democratic Party and unions poured millions into Sink's campaign.

Both campaigns blitzed the airwaves for months with hard-hitting ads. While Scott tried to tie Sink to an unpopular president, labeling her an "Obama liberal," Sink hammered Scott for his role at Columbia/HCA, which paid a $1.7 billion Medicare fine after his departure.