MIAMI (CBS4) - It was one of the nastiest and most closely watched Congressional campaigns in Florida, but just before 10:30 p.m., Democrat Joe Garcia conceded the U.S. District 25 House seat to Republican David Rivera.

The seat was created by Mario Diaz-Balart when he was in Tallahassee. Diaz-Balart has taken over the Congressional seat that was once held by his brother, District 21.

In TV ads and discourse across the district from West Miami-Dade to Florida's West Coast, both candidates relentlessly attacked the other. Rivera attacks Garcia's time on the Public Service Commission, allegations that were proven false.

Garcia responded charging Rivera caused an accident in 2002 on the Palmetto Expressway to prevent a former political rival's campaign flyers that attacked Rivera's character from being sent out .

Then there were Miami Herald reports questioning Rivera's claims of income from an agency that says he never worked there. After the article, Rivera dropped that claim from official campaign forms.

Even so, the mudslinging in advertisements barely slowed down, in part because both national parties watched this race carefully for its implications for the balance of power on Capitol Hill.

Despite the back and forth, both candidates seem to agree this race was about jobs and economic development.