2018 FLORIDA PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS REPORT Prepared by Leslie Y. Dughi, Director, Government Law & Policy
The election results in this document are the Unofficial Results reported by the County Supervisors of Elections to the Secretary of State on election night. For the most current results, please visit the Florida Division of Elections website at: http://enight.elections.myflorida.com/.
ELECTIONS OVERVIEW The 2016 Presidential Election rang in a new era of campaigning across the nation when candidate Donald Trump bypassed traditional media outlets and reached voters directly via Twitter. The practice is now used by Republican and Democratic candidates across the country.
Another unorthodox practice by the President is choosing sides in Republican primaries. In Florida, where Trump enjoys a 50 percent approval rating, state and local level candidates invoked the President’s name in their primary message to voters. For the most part, the strategy was successful. Yet, these candidates must now win over independent voters who tend to be more moderate.
Three Cabinet seats – Governor, Attorney General and Agriculture Commissioner – are up for grabs this cycle. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis, appointed by Governor Scott in June 2017 when CFO Jeff Atwater joined the private sector, is running for re-election. Further, all 120 House of Representative and half of the 40 Senate seats are up for election this cycle.
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH GOVERNOR The “Trump Effect” ultimately led Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis to a 56.5 % win over longtime gubernatorial heir-apparent Adam Putnam. During the race, Putnam touted his years of service and knowledge of issues affecting the state while DeSantis flaunted his Trump endorsement and talked mostly about federal level issues. In the end, DeSantis’ Trump card prevailed.
In a surprising twist, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum became the first African American gubernatorial nominee while spending far less than his four primary opponents. Gillum, who was endorsed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, won with 34.3 %, beating former Congresswoman Gwen Graham (31.3%) and Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine (20.3%).
DeSantis versus Gillum is a match-up of Trump’s Conservative faction of the Republican party against Bernie Sanders’ Progressive Democrats. What remains to be seen is how these two opposite candidates move to the middle to gain independent voter support.
ATTORNEY GENERAL Early in the race, Republican Hillsborough county circuit judge Ashley Moody took the lead in endorsements and fundraising. What began as a four-way primary, moved to a battle of two when two Republican candidates – Representatives Jay Fant and Ross Spano – left the race. Moody faced one-term state representative Frank White, general counsel of a multi-state auto dealership, who used his family money to bolstered name recognition and poll numbers. Ultimately, Moody held off White and won with 56.8% of the vote.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 1
The winner will now face state representative, trial attorney and former insurance consumer advocate Sean Shaw. Shaw, whose father is former chief justice Leander Shaw, sued his primary opponent for campaign contribution violations which kept him off the ballot in the August primary.
AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER The Republican primary consisted of two state legislators – Senator Denise Grimsley and Representative Matt Caldwell and one former state Representative Baxter Troutman. All three sought to raise their name recognition in a race overshadowed by the gubernatorial battle. Troutman used his personal wealth for television buys to increase his numbers while Caldwell and Grimsley ran grassroots campaigns. In the end, Caldwell’s ground game and embrace of social media resulted in his victory with 34.58% of the vote.
On the Democratic side, lobbyist Nikki Fried joined the race late but jettisoned to the lead quickly with backing from the medical marijuana industry. Ultimately, Fried beat Jeff Porter, Homestead Mayor; and retired Colonel Roy David Walker with 58.61%.
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER When Gov. Scott appointed him CFO in 2017, Jimmy Patronis took great pains to gain a strong understanding of the position. Patronis was a well-liked state representative and restauranteur when Scott appointed him to the Public Service Commission in 2014. His strong relationship with Scott made him the obvious candidate to fill the vacated CFO spot to lead the state on issues related to insurance and financial services. Patronis did not have a primary but will face former state Senator Jeremy Ring in November. Ring, a former Yahoo executive, has experienced lackluster fundraising thus far, and he will need substantial funds to compete with Patronis.
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SENATE Florida Senators serve four-year terms and may serve two terms for a total of eight years in one seat. Half of the 40 Senate districts are up for election this cycle, and the current breakdown in the Senate is 23 Republicans, 16 Democrats and one vacant seat. Two Senators, both Republicans, reached their eight-year term limit in 2018 and could not run again. Three others, also Republicans, did not run for re-election or sought higher office resulting in five open Senate seats.
Following the June 22nd qualifying deadline, two Democratic Senators – Audrey Gibson and Lauren Book were re-elected without opposition. Sen. Gibson is the current Senate Democratic leader and Sen. Book is hoping to take over that position next year. Below is an outline of the Senate races following Tuesday’s primary elections.
District Candidate Comments 2 Gainer, George (R) Auto dealer Gibson, Mary Jeanne (D) 4 Bean, Aaron (R) Development Officer Shands Jacksonville Bussard, Billee (D) Journalist Tavares, Joanna (LPF) 6 Gibson, Audrey (D) Re-elected without opposition; Democratic leader; public relations liaison 8 Enneking, Kayser (D) Physician Goston, Charles E. (NPA) Perry, Keith (R) CEO Roofing Company 10 Cottrell, Michael (D) Teacher
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 2
District Candidate Comments Simpson, Wilton (R) Egg farmer; slated to be President following Galvano 12 Baxley, Dennis (R) Funeral home owner Gray, Keasha "Kay" (WRI) McKechnie, Gary (D) Educator, travel writer, bed and breakfast owner 14 Hukill, Dorothy L. (R) Attorney Martin, Melissa "Mel" (D) Retired Marine major 16 Hooper, Ed (R) Former state representative and retired firefighter Murphy, Amanda (D) Former state representative; Finance 18 Cruz, Janet (D) Optician Young, Dana (R) Attorney 20 Lee, Tom (R) Vice President of Sabal Homes Lewis, Kathy (D) Writer and motivational speaker 22 Doyel, Bob (D) Former circuit judge Stargel, Kelli (R) Investment property manager 23 Gruters, Joe (R) State representative, CPA Babis, Faith (D) Mentor at Suncoast Center for Independent Living 24 Brandes, Jeff (R) Real estate broker Cross, Lindsay (D) Executive Director of Florida Wildlife Corridor 25 Harrell, Gayle (R) State representative Levy, Robert (D) Physician 26 Albritton, Ben (R) Citrus grower; consultant Price, Catherine (D) Nurse, public health administrator 28 Karim, Annisa (D) Manager, Lee County Department of Parks and Recreation Passidomo, Kathleen (R) Attorney 30 Powell, Bobby (D) Urban and regional planner Santos, Josh (WRI) 32 Book, Lauren (D) Re-elected without opposition; Founder of Lauren’s Kids 34 Farmer Jr, Gary (D) Attorney Sturm, Richard (WRI) 36 Diaz Jr, Manny (R) College Administrator Perez, David (D) Firefighter 38 Pizzo, Jason (D) Elected in primary after beating Sen. Daphne Campbell, attorney 40 Cancio, Marili (R) Attorney, Miami Dade College Trustee Taddeo, Annette (D) Founder, CEO of Language Speak *bold denotes incumbents
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES House members serve two-year terms and may hold one seat for four terms totaling eight years. The current breakdown in the House is 76 Republicans to 41 Democrats. At the end of the qualifying period, the below 23 incumbents (6 Republicans; 17 Democrats) qualified with no opposition and were automatically re-elected. Additionally, there are 35 districts (14 Republicans; 9 Democrats) without an incumbent due to term limits, aspirations of seeking a higher or local office or retirement.
Below is a summary of the races following Tuesday’s primary election.
District Candidate Comments 1 Hill, Mike (R) Former state representative, insurance agent Garrett, Vikki (D) Former Escambia County Engineering Department employee 2 Andrade, Alex (R) Elected in primary; state attorney, domestic violence prosecutor 3 Osborne, Bobbi (NPA) Electrician assistant Williamson, Jayer (R) Electrical contractor 4 Koelzer, Rebecca (D) Retired Navy & Air Force
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 3
District Candidate Comments Ponder, Mel (R) President of Workplace Ministry, Realtor 5 Drake, Brad (R) Elected without opposition; Marketing executive 6 Davis, William (WRI) Park service Trumbull, Jay (R) Small business owner 7 Beshears, Halsey (R) Elected without opposition; Bicycle shop owner 8 Alexander, Ramon (D) Elected without opposition; Non-profit executive 9 Ausley, Loranne (D) Elected without opposition, Attorney and consultant 10 Brannan, Chuck (R) Former highway patrolman Jipson, Merrillee (NPA) Ecotourism business owner Martin, Fred (NPA) Williams II, Ronald (D) Councilman 11 Byrd, Cord (R) Attorney Rohrbaugh, Nathcelly (D) Small business entrepreneur 12 Yarborough, Clay (R) Human resource supervisor Yost, Timothy (D) Educator 13 Davis, Tracie (D) Elected without opposition, Jacksonville compliance officer 14 Daniels, Kimberly (D) Author, international speaker 15 Duggan, Wyman (R) Attorney Polson, Tracye Ann (D) Licensed psychotherapist, Ph.D. 16 Fischer, Jason (R) Engineer Organes, Ken (D) Retired 17 Perkins, Jaime (NPA) Business consultant Stevenson, Cyndi (R) CPA 18 Cummings, Travis (R) Elected without opposition, Owner of insurance, employee benefits company 19 Payne, Bobby (R) Electric generation, transmission utility manager Still, Paul (D) County board supervisor 20 Watson Jr, Clovis (D) Elected without opposition, retired Alachua city manager 21 Clemons, Chuck (R) College administrator Haeseler, Jason Lee (D) Civil engineer 22 Parker, Bernard (D) Retired Stone, Charlie (R) Owner of Stone Petroleum Products 23 Griffin, Carl (D) Agro-tourism and horse farm McClain, Stan (R) Residential contractor 24 Morley, Adam (D) Small Business Owner Renner, Paul (R) Attorney 25 Hannoush, Joe (LPF) Delivery services Leek, Tom (R) Attorney Tripp, Kathleen (D) Director of Save the Manatee Organization 26 Fetterhoff, Elizabeth (R) Former Senate aide Henry, Patrick (D) Family counselor 27 Lawrence, Carol (D) Attorney, real estate broker Santiago, David (R) Financial manager 28 Mangold, Lee (D) Government contractor Smith, David (R) Retired marine 29 Kagan, Tracey (D) Attorney Plakon, Scott (R) Business owner 30 Cortes, Bob (R) Owner of towing company Goff-Marcil, Joy (D) Attorney 31 Kaplan, Debra A. (D) Sales Sullivan, Jennifer (R) Legislator 32 Brown, Cynthia (D) Realtor Sabatini, Anthony (R) City Commissioner; member of Army National Guard
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 4
District Candidate Comments 33 Hage, Brett (R) Business owner Miller, Oren L. (D) Retired 34 Massullo Jr, Ralph (R) Dermatologist Reinhardt, Paul John (D) Retired 35 Ingoglia, Blaise (R) Chair of the Republican Party of Florida Kasperek, Colleen (D) Attorney 36 Jack, Linda (D) Musician Mariano, Amber (R) Student 37 Zika, Ardian (R) Business owner Garcia, Tammy (D) Medical insurance billing 38 Burgess, Danny (R) JAG attorney Hayes, David "TK" (NPA) Business owner 39 Shirah, Ricky (D) Towing company owner Tomkow, Josie (R) Recent University of Florida graduate 40 Burton, Colleen (R) Strategic planning consultant Terrell, Shandale (D) Educator 41 Killebrew, Sam (R) Elected without opposition 42 Cady, Barbara (D) Retired La Rosa, Mike (R) Real estate broker 43 Cortes, John (D) Elected without opposition, retired corrections officer 44 Thompson, Geraldine (D) Former state senator Olszewski, Bobby O (R) Adjunct professor, management consultant 45 Brown, Kamia (D) Elected without opposition, community development professional 46 Antone, Bruce (D) Consultant Lewis, Sandra (WRI) Education 47 Eskamani, Anna (D) Community activist Reeves, Stockton (R) Architect 48 Chandler, George (R) Real estate agent Mercado, Amy (D) Director of Operations at National Mango Board 49 Griffin, Ben (R) Education Smith, Carlos (D) Community Activist 50 Plasencia, Rene (R) Educator, track coach Dirschka, Pam (D) Educator 51 Blake, Mike (D) Educator Sirois, Tyler (R) State attorney 52 Altman, Thad (R) Foundation president Begui, Seeta Durjan (D) 53 Fine, Randy (R) Businessman Moore, Phil (D) Head athletic trainer at Florida Tech 54 Grall, Erin (R) Litigation attorney Haagenson, Nicole (D) IT professional 55 Asciutto, Audrey (D) Realtor Pigman, Cary (R) Emergency room physician 56 Bell, Melony (R) Polk County Commissioner and beekeeper 57 Beltran, Mike (R) Attorney Katt, Debbie (D) Software engineer 58 Hornback, Phil (D) Former teacher, business owner McClure, Lawrence (R) Environmental mitigation specialist 59 Hattersley, Adam (D) Former submarine officer Wicker, Joe (R) Home health agency owner 60 Bellanti, Debra (D) Markting xecutive Toledo, Jackie (R) Civil engineer 61 Hart, Dianne (D) Owner of beauty shop
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 5
District Candidate Comments Joyce, Valion (WRI) 62 Valdes, Susan (D) Hillsborough School Board member Vazquez, Jose (WRI) 63 Driskell, Fentrice (D) Harrison, Shawn (R) Attorney 64 Grant, James (R) Attorney Harrington, Jessica (D) Teacher Warrener, Andy (NPA) 65 Laufer, Sally (D) Community activist Sprowls, Chris (R) Attorney 66 DiCeglie, Nick (R) Business owner Heeren, Alex (D) Technology integration specialist 67 Douglas, Dawn (D) Teacher Latvala, Chris (R) Vice president of marketing company 68 Diamond, Ben (D) Elected without opposition 69 Blacklidge, Ray (R) Insurance general counsel Webb, Jennifer (D) Small business owner 70 Newton, Newt (D) Re-elected in the primary; photographer 71 Pratt, Tracy (D) Attorney Robinson, Will (R) Attorney 72 Good, Margaret (D) Attorney Pilon, Ray (R) Former state representative 73 Coleman, Liv (D) Community advocate, educator Gregory, Tommy (R) Lt. Colonel, business owner 74 Buchanan, James (R) Kaplan, Robert (NPA) Mowry, Tony (D) Attorney 75 Grant, Michael J. (R) Owner of ambulance service 76 Bogner, David (D) Night auditor at beach resort Rodrigues, Ray (R) Budget manager for Florida Gulf Coast University 77 Eagle, Dane (R) Real estate broker Garcia, Alanis (D) Transgender advocate 78 Fitzenhagen, Heather (R) Litigation attorney Taeb, Parisima (D) Physician 79 Lipton, Mark (D) Attorney Roach, Spencer (R) Retired coast guard officer, attorney 80 Boddicker, Jennifer (D) Health care educator, author Donalds, Byron (R) Financial Advisor Lapolla, Dustin (NPA) Combat vet 81 Polsky, Tina (D) Elected in the primary; Mediator and attorney 82 Magar, MaryLynn (R) General Manager of Heart Care Imaging O'Connor, Edward (D) Attorney 83 Overdorf, Toby (R) Environmental consultant Theobald, Matt (D) Educator 84 Gotz, Mark (R) Businessman Johnson, Delores (D) Retired school administrator 85 Baker, Ellen (D) Educator Roth, Rick (R) Agriculture business owner 86 Bennett, Laurel (R) CEO of PHR Solutions Willhite, Matt (D) Firefighter 87 Kpadenou, Samson (GRE) Hospitality Silvers, David (D) President of publishing company 88 Jacquet, Al (D) Attorney
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 6
District Candidate Comments 89 Bonfiglio, Jim (D) Insurance Attorney Caruso, Mike (R) Forensic CPA 90 Casello, Joseph A. (D) Elected without opposition, Boynton Beach Commissioner 91 Slosberg, Emily Ann (D) Elected without opposition, CEO Dori Slosberg Foundation 92 Hawkins-Williams, Patricia Retired early learning director (D) 93 Collum, Emma (D) Attorney for JL Audio LaMarca, Chip (R) Broward County Commissioner; Contractor Milam, Kelly (NPA) 94 DuBose, Bobby (D) Elected without opposition, insurance agent 95 Omphroy, Anika (D) Elected without opposition, owner of event planning company 96 Jacobs, Kristin (D) Public policy professional 97 Moskowitz, Jared (D) Attorney 98 Cruz, Joseph Anthony (R) Volunteer Gottlieb, Michael (D) Attorney 99 Jenne, Evan (D) Elected without opposition, Not-for-profit Board member 100 Geller, Joe (D) Elected without opposition, Administrative attorney 101 Jones, Shevrin (D) Elected without opposition, CEO, Leaders by Empowerment 102 Pritchett, Sharon (D) Elected without opposition, retired investigator, Pubic Defenders office 103 Mingo, Frank (R) Operations executive at Oliva Cigar; Miami Lakes Vice Mayor Polo, Cindy (D) Advocate 104 Stark, Rick (D) Elected without opposition, insurance agent 105 Estevez, Javier (D) Rodriguez, Ana Maria (R) City council member 106 McFadden, Sara (D) Administrator and small business owner Rommel, Bob (R) Restaurant owner 107 Watson, Barbara (D) Elected without opposition, former Miami Gardens Councilwoman 108 Joseph, Dotie (D) Civil rights attorney; beat Rep. Hardemon in primary Caballero, Riquet (LPF) 109 Bush III, James (D) Elected in the primary, former state representative 110 Oliva, Jose (R) Elected without opposition, CEO of Oliva Cigar 111 Ahmed, Rizwan (D) Real estate agent Avila, Bryan (R) College Professor 112 Duran, Nicholas (D) Executive Director of a Nonprofit Palomino, Rosy (R) Community leader; business owner 113 Grieco, Michael (D) Elected in the primary; former Miami Beach Commissioner 114 Enriquez, Javier (R) Attorney Fernandez, Javier (D) Attorney 115 Aloupis, Vance (R) Not for profit education advocacy executive Solomon, Jeffrey (D) Chiropractor 116 Harden, James (D) Public schools Perez, Daniel (R) Attorney 117 McGhee, Kionne (D) Elected without opposition, Miami-Dade state attorney’s office 118 Asencio, Robert (D) Retired police captain Rodriguez, Anthony (R) Owner of rental properties 119 Fernandez-Barquin, Juan (R) Insurance defense attorney Rassner, Heath (D) Caretaker and tutor Sotelo, Daniel (NPA) Real estate investor 120 Friedman, Steve (D) Fishing guide Raschein, Holly (R) Healthcare special projects manager *bold denotes incumbents
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 7
THE FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION UNITED STATES SENATE U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is not up for re-election in this cycle. Longtime Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson did not have a primary opponent; however, he faces the fight of his career in the general election. Two term Florida Governor Rick Scott has been aggressively campaigning for months.
UNITED STATES HOUSE At the close of qualifying, two Democratic Congresswomen – Kathy Castor and Lois Frankel were re-elected without opposition. There were also three open seats all previously held by Republicans. Outlined below is a summary of the races following Tuesday’s primary.
District Candidate Race Comments 1 Gaetz, Matt (R) Attorney Zimmerman, Jennifer (D) Pediatrician 2 Dunn, Neal (R) Surgeon (Retired) Rackleff, Bob (D) Lieutenant Commander Navy (Retired) 3 Hayes Hinson, Yvonne (D) Retired principal; former City Commissioner Yoho, Ted (R) Large Animal Veterinarian 4 Rutherford, John (R) Sheriff Selmont, George (D) Attorney Berrios, Joceline (NPA) Bulger, Jason Michael (NPA) Koniz, Gary (WRI) Murphy, Danny (WRI) 5 Fuller, Virginia (R) Nurse Lawson, Al (D) Former state legislators; businessman 6 Soderberg, Nancy (D) President, CEO of Soderberg Global Solutions Waltz, Michael (R) Former Fox News Contributor, small business owner 7 Miller, Mike (R) State representative, real estate broker Murphy, Stephanie (D) College instructor 8 Patel, Sanjay (D) Small Businessman; non-profit Owner Posey, Bill (R) Real estate executive 9 Liebnitzky, Wayne (R) Engineer; entrepreneur Soto, Darren (D) Attorney 10 Demings, Val (D) Re-elected in primary; former Orlando Chief of Police 11 Cottrell, Dana (D) Teacher Webster, Daniel (R) Air conditioning contractor Saldana, Luis (WRI) 12 Bilirakis, Gus (R) Attorney, former state representative Hunter, Chris (D) Stetson Law professor Purkis, Angelika (NPA) 13 Buck, George (R) Retired firefighter, professor Crist, Charlie (D) Attorney, former Governor 14 Castor, Kathy (D) Re-elected without opposition, former state representative, educator 15 Spano, Ross (R) Attorney, state representative Carlson, Kristen (D) Attorney Johnson, Dave (WRI) Rabinowitz, Jeffrey (WRI) Bynzar, Alek (WRI) 16 Buchanan, Vern (R) Automobile dealer Shapiro, David (D) Attorney
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 8
17 Freeman, April (D) Owner of political consulting firm Steube, Greg (R) State senator, attorney 18 Baer, Lauren (D) Attorney, foreign policy expert Mast, Brian (R) Homeland security specialist 19 Holden, David (D) Financial planner Rooney, Francis (R) Business owner, former Ambassador Pollard, Pete (WRI) 20 Bonner, Jay (WRI) Hastings, Alcee (D) Former judge 21 Frankel, Lois (D) Re-elected without opposition, attorney, former state representative 22 Deutch, Ted (D) Attorney Kimaz, Nicolas (R) Health entrepreneur, TV and film producer 23 Kaufman, Joseph (R) Writer Wasserman Schultz, Former state representative and senator Debbie (D) Canova, Timothy (NPA) Endriss, Don (NPA) 24 Wilson, Frederica S. (D) Re-elected in the primary; educator 25 Barzee Flores, Mary (D) Attorney, former judge Diaz-Balart, Mario (R) Former state representative and senator 26 Curbelo, Carlos (R) Businessmen, former Miami-Dade County School Board member Mucarsel-Powell, Debbie (D) Non-profit director 27 Salazar, Maria Elvira (R) Former TV anchor, journalist Shalala, Donna (D) Former President of University of Miami, Secretary of Health and Human Services *bold denotes incumbents
Greenberg Traurig, LLP │ gtlaw.com 9