Republican Bob McDonnell once again declared victory in the Virginia attorney general’s race on Monday after the state Board of Elections certified the results of the Nov. 8 election.

 But Democrat Creigh Deeds immediately announced plans for a recount in the closest statewide election in modern Virginia history.

 McDonnell edged Democrat Creigh Deeds by a mere 323 votes – a margin of less than 0.01 percentage points. More than 1.94 million votes cast ballots in the contest.

 The elections board also certified the results in the races for governor, lieutenant governor and the House of Delegates. Democrat Tim Kaine was certified as the winner of the governor’s race and Republican Bill Bolling was certified as the winner in the election for lieutenant governor.

 But it was the close contest for attorney general that drew a swarm of reporters and lawyers for the two candidates to observe Monday’s certification process, which most political observers treat as a formality. McDonnell, who saw his lead diminish substantially during a locality-by-locality canvassing process, expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

 “I am grateful that the state Board of Elections today confirmed what the election night returns and the canvass process clearly demonstrated – that the people of Virginia have chosen me to be the 44th attorney general of our great commonwealth,” McDonnell said in a statement issued shortly after the board declared him the winner.

 McDonnell, a state delegate from Virginia Beach, said he is continuing with his transition plans with an eye toward taking office on Jan. 14. But Deeds, a state senator from Bath County, plans to file a petition for a recount on Tuesday, starting a process that could leave the outcome of the election in doubt until mid-December.

 “It is the right thing to do to make sure every vote is fairly and accurately counted, so the votes of the people of Virginia will ultimately decide the outcome of this election,” Deeds said. “I will respect the recount process that both Delegate McDonnell and I supported in the General Assembly to ensure that the people’s votes and their best interests are put ahead of partisanship.”