Florida’s primary election concluded Tuesday, with victories and upsets which ended nearly 100 campaigns at the state and federal levels. Several “establishment” politicians were defeated, and at least one state Senate race is headed for a recount. Early voting played a major role in this primary election. The Department of State reported that 1.7 million voters cast their ballots before Tuesday’s primary election day. Of those, 1.2 million individuals voted by mail, and 538,458 took advantage of early voting. These numbers far surpass those reported for the past two election cycles. Statewide, voter turnout on election day averaged at 24 percent.
A constitutional amendment which provides a property tax break for renewable energy source devices passed, overwhelmingly. Amendment 4, which was placed on the ballot by the Legislature during the 2016 Legislative Session, was approved by 73 percent of the vote – far more than the 60 percent required for approval. In the newly redrawn 5th Congressional District, U.S. Representative Corrine Brown of Jacksonville, who has been in Congress for over 20 years, was defeated by Democrat Al Lawson. Perhaps contributing to her defeat is a criminal fraud case Brown is facing. In other open congressional seats, Representative Matt Gaetz defeated Senator Greg Evers in Congressional District 1, and Dr. Neal Dunn was declared the winner in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District. Florida Senator Darren Soto won the Democratic primary to replace Alan Grayson in the 9th Congressional District. Should he also win in November, he would become Florida’s first Puerto Rican member of Congress.
At the state level, Representatives Darryl Rouson and Ed Narain are headed for a recount in their bid to move to the Senate – Senate District 19. The two Democratic Representatives were battling in a close four-way primary, and Rouson finished a mere 167 votes ahead of Narain. If two candidates are within one-half of 1 percent of each other, state law requires that an automatic recount occur. The victor should be declared during the next several days.
Several of the most expensive races were ones which pitted House incumbents against one another as they competed for open Senate seats. Several of these races were essentially decided last night as well, as the winners are expected to win the general election in November. Representative Debbie Mayfield beat Representative Ritch Workman in the Republican primary for Senate District 17, while Representative Matt Hudson was defeated by Representative Kathleen Passidomo in Senate District 28. In Senate District 23, Representative Greg Steube emerged as the winner in a crowded Republican field, defeating former Representative Doug Holder, Representative Ray Pilon and County Commissioner Nora Patterson.
Below you will find a breakdown for the Florida House and Senate races detailing the unofficial primary election results. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like additional information.
Hank Holderfield, Executive Director
Florida Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons
Election Results (pdf)
Download an update from our outstanding lobbying team at Gray-Robinson on the primary election results. Note the column indicating which candidates received FSOMS’ Political Action Committee (FLOMSPAC) support. Over $25,000 was donated this year by FLOMSPAC to state campaigns.