March 29, 2024

2018 Elections

Blue surge or red surprise?

A number of competitive seats statewide could set the tone nationally.

Jason Garcia | 9/27/2018

The Mayors


The races for U.S. Senate and governor command most of the money and attention, but there are important races further down the ballot all over Florida this fall.

Pensacola: In Pensacola, voters will choose just their second mayor since switching in 2010 to a strong mayor form of government. Grover Robinson, an Escambia County commissioner, and Brian Spencer, a Pensacola City Council member, are vying to succeed incumbent Ashton Hayward, who opted not to run for a third four-year term.

Orange County: In Central Florida, Jerry Demings, the Orange County sheriff, has already won election as county mayor, the most powerful local office in the region. Demings, the county’s first African- American mayor and the first Democrat to win the post in 20 years, avoided a runoff by trouncing two Republican opponents in the primary. But just who Demings will be working with on the county commission remains unsettled; voters will decide three of the seven board seats in November.

Tallahassee: There will be a new mayor in Florida’s capital, where the incumbent, Andrew Gillum, is now the Democratic nominee for governor. Competing to succeed Gillum are John Dailey, a Leon County commissioner, and Dustin Daniels, Gillum’s former chief of staff at City Hall.

Key West: Key West will elect its first new mayor in a decade, as term limits force out Craig Cates. Two former city commissioners are competing for the job in the nation’s southernmost city: Teri Johnston, who narrowly avoided winning outright in the primary, and Margaret Romero.

Miami: Strong Mayor?: One of the most consequential local elections is in the city of Miami, where, should it survive legal challenges, there will be a referendum on the ballot to switch the city to a strong mayor form of government. The referendum is being pushed by Miami’s current mayor, Francis Suarez, who would become the most powerful person in city government. Opponents, including Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, have labeled the move a power grab.

Broward County School Board


Some of the most intense local elections in Florida this year have been for the Broward County School Board. Five of nine board seats were up for grabs, and the debate has been dominated by the February mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — whether the district could have done more to prevent the tragedy and how it has responded since. Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter Alyssa was one of 17 people killed in the shooting, won an open seat outright in the primary. But Ryan Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter Alaina was also killed, and Richard Mendelson, a former Stoneman Douglas teacher, both lost to incumbent board members. One seat still remains to be decided in November, where incumbent Ann Murray faces Jim Silvernale, a union leader.

 

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