Two St. Johns County commissioners were ousted in the Tuesday, Aug. 20, primary election, and area residents will be represented by new members of the Florida Senate and House.
Of the three commissioners seeking re-election, only Christian Whitehurst won his race, though only by a margin of 2% over challenger Ann-Marie Evans. Weston Ferguson finished a distant third.
A write-in candidate has qualified for the general election for District 1.
In the District 5 race, challenger Ann Taylor prevailed over incumbent Henry Dean by a 2% margin. Dean was originally elected to the commission in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. John Higbee III finished a distant third.
Taylor will face a challenge by Merrill Paul Roland, who qualified for the general election as No Party Affiliation.
In the District 3 race, challenger Clay Murphy received 47% of the vote, unseating incumbent Roy Alaimo by a margin of 6%. Alaimo was appointed to the board by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022 to fill a vacancy created by the death of Commissioner Paul Waldron. Challengers Heather Harley-Davidson and Michael McDonald finished a distant third and fourth, respectively.
A write-in candidate has qualified for the general election.
In other county races, Brandon Patty was re-elected clerk of the court and comptroller over challenger Denver Cook; and Sheriff Rob Hardwick prevailed over challenger Jim Priester, though a write-in candidate has qualified for the general election.
In the District 7 race for Florida state senator, Tom Leek easily prevailed, receiving 47% of the vote. He will face Democrat George Anthony “T” Hill II in the general election. David Shoar, who previously served as St. Johns County sheriff and had received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, received 27% of the vote Tuesday. Challenger Gerry James received 25%.
State Sen. Travis Hutson currently serves District 7 but could not run again due to term limits.
In the District 18 race for state representative, Kim Kendall prevailed, receiving 58% of the vote to challenger Nick Primrose’s 42%. State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson currently serves District 18 but could not run again due to term limits.
Kendall, a Republican, will face Democrat Keith Matthews in the general election.
In the District 19 race for state representative, Sam Greco received 63% of the vote to challenger Darryl Boyer’s 36%. A Republican, Greco will face Democrat Adam Morley in the general election.
State Rep. Paul Renner currently serves District 19 but could not run again due to term limits.
In the District 20 race for state representative, Judson Sapp received 65% of the vote to Jamie Watts’ 35%. A Republican, Sapp will face Democrat Tony Connelly in the general election.
State Rep. Bobby Payne currently serves District 20 but could not run again due to term limits.
In St. Johns County’s District 2 School Board race, incumbent Anthony E. Coleman Sr. won re-election with 53% of the vote to challenger Francis Cummings’ 47%.
In the District 5 School Board race, candidates Linda Thomson and Bethany Hilbert will compete in a runoff election held concurrently with the November general election. That’s because none of the four candidates for that office received 50% of the vote plus one. Thomson was the top vote-getter with 41% of the vote. Hilbert followed with 24%. Both Lynn Straughan and Liliana Bristow received 17%. The winner in November will replace Patrick Canan, who currently serves District 5.
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Rick Scott will face challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in the November general election. Other candidates will include Libertarian Feena Bonoan; Ben Everidge and Tuan TQ Nguyen, both No Party Affiliation; and one write-in.
Scott won the Republican primary with 84% of the vote, challengers Keith Gross and John S. Columbus finishing a distant second and third, respectively.
Mucarsel-Powell won the Democrat primary with 69% of the vote to challenger Stanley Campbell’s 20%. Brian Rush and Rod Joseph finished a distant third and fourth, respectively.
In the District 5 race for U.S. representative, incumbent John H. Rutherford prevailed with 67% of the vote to challenger Mara H. Macie’s 33%. A Republican, Rutherford will face Democrat Jay McGovern in the general election. A write-in candidate has qualified.
In the District 6 race for U.S. representative, incumbent Michael Waltz prevailed with 82% of the vote to challenger John Grow’s 18%. A Republican, Waltz will face Democrat James David Stockton III in the general election. A write-in candidate has qualified.
In the race for Republican state committeeman, Tom Rivers won with 59% of the vote. He faced four challengers.
In the race for Republican state committeewoman, Tamara Renuart won with 48% of the vote. She faced two challengers.
These percentages reflect the unofficial count with all 53 St. Johns County precincts reporting in, though votes by mail remaining only partially reported. Percentages are rounded. Where districts cross county lines, votes from the other counties were included.
Unopposed candidates automatically elected include:
The general election will be held on Nov. 5. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 21 through Nov. 2.
