Firebrand Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., said Tuesday he had conceded in his bid for re-election to Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy. 

Fourteen days after Election Day, West, a favorite of Tea Party conservatives who had sought a recount and raised the prospect of inaccuracies in the results, said in a statement that his legal team  "does not believe there are enough over-counted, undercounted or fraudulent votes to change the outcome of the election."

"While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election," West said.

Joe Skipper / Reuters

Republican Rep. Allen West speaks at a campaign stop with guests at SCORE South Palm Beach, a resource partner to the Small Business Administration, in Boca Raton, Fla. Oct. 18, 2012.

Murphy led by about 1,900 votes following a partial recount in the district.

He added a bit later on Fox News: "We're going to move ahead and we wish Congressman-elect Murphy very well, but I think that now is not the time to draw the process out."

West was a lieutenant colonel in the Army, during which time he served in the Iraq war. He successfully ran for Congress in 2010, aided by the Republican headwinds that year in his challenge to Democrat Ron Klein in a swing district. He sought re-election in a slightly more favorable district following the redrawing of congressional district boundaries prompted every decade by the Census. 

The victory for Murphy adds to Democrats' pickup in the House, and disarms conservatives of one of their most brash voices in Congress. He, for instance, equated economic dependence upon government — through programs like Social Security — to slavery, and West called Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a fellow Florida lawmaker, "vile" and "not a lady."

West's departure from Capitol Hill also means that that Congress will lose one of its two black Republicans. West and South Carolina Rep. TIm Scott, R, are the only two African American members of the GOP conference; West was the only Republican member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Updated 3:31 p.m. - Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-FL) claimed at a town hall meeting that about 80 members of Congress are communists, a remark which has drawn quick fire from opponents.

"I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the democratic party that are members of the communist party," West told supporters at a town hall meeting in Jensen Beach, FL. He was responding to a question by a participant who asked, "what percentage of the American legislature do you think are card carrying Marxists?"

Doug Murray / Reuters

Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., claimed at a town hall meeting that about 80 members of Congress are communists, a remark which has drawn quick fire from opponents.

Asked to respond to the comments, West spokeswoman Angela Marvin told NBC News that the Congressman was referring to the 76 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

"The Congressman was referring to the 76 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus," Marvin said in a written statement. "The Communist Party has publicly referred to the Progressive Caucus as its allies."

"The Progressive Caucus speaks for itself," Marvin continued, "These individuals certainly aren't proponents of free markets or individual economic freedom."

West's office also referred to a post on the website for the Communist Party USA where it says they made a mistake by turning "away from our allies in Congress, the Progressive Caucus, and John Conyers" during their fight for a single-payer system being included in Obama's health care law.

Libro DellaPiana, who is one of the vice chairs of the Communist Party USA, called West's statements "ridiculous" and "a cheap shot."

"There are no members of Congress in the Communist party," DellaPiana said, "We support public parks and I assume Congressmen West does too, that doesn't mean he's a Communist."

Allen West has been thrust into the spotlight after a number of notable Republicans listed him as a possible running-mate for Mitt Romney in the general election.  Of those who have called for West to be considered is Sarah Palin, Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and Herman Cain.

This isn't the first time West has criticized a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. In January of last year, West criticized Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Rep Keith Ellison (D-MN) as "someone that really does represent the antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established" because he is a practicing Muslim.