With Florida's primary over, what can you expect in the upcoming general election?
Our Changing State host, Matthew Peddie, speaks with WUSF reporters Steve Newborn and Kerry Sheridan about how the state's primary results will impact the November election.
As for voter turnout, about 22% of registered voters took part in the primary statewide, Newborn said.
“It's the lowest it's been in 10 years, I kind of looked that up. And statewide, less than 1 million people voted.”
In the U.S. Senate race, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell easily won the Democratic primary. She’ll take on incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Scott in November.
Andrew Warren also won the Democratic primary for Hillsborough County State Attorney, after he was suspended from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022.
“Now he will face the woman who replaced him. Judge Suzy Lopez was appointed by Gov. DeSantis to that position,” Newborn said. “Yeah, I went to a recent Tampa Tiger Bay debate between the two. And let me tell you, there's no love lost between these two. That was obvious, and it's going to be a real interesting race come November.”
In the Manatee County Commission primary, incumbent Republicans Raymond Turner and Kevin Van Ostenbridge were voted out.
“They were incumbents, powerful, wealthy, had raised a lot of money and lost their seats,” Sheridan explained. “And that could be also a sign of, after Tropical Storm Debby passed by, became a hurricane later, a lot of flooding in Sarasota and Manatee County, lot of people are angry and have questions about the overdevelopment.”
Races in Sarasota County
In the Sarasota County School Board primary, Liz Barker won against Karen Rose in District 2. Sheridan said Rose has gotten more political in recent years, while Barker didn’t push for that angle during the race. In District 3, incumbent Tom Edwards, who describes himself as a moderate, won the primary.
“It's, I think, important to point out that there is still a 3-2 conservative majority on the Sarasota school board, but without Karen Rose there as a key ally to Bridget Ziegler, it does shift the balance of experience,” Sheridan said. “Without Karen Rose there, there's a lot less experience on that board.”
Sheridan added the vote shows a large Democratic turnout compared to previous elections.
“People seem to want to have some normalcy back into their school boards, make them boring again, maybe.”
Statewide, of the 23 school board candidates DeSantis endorsed in the primary, 11 lost.
Voters also cast their ballots in the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board race, which was Republican-only. The four candidates who ran on a “medical freedom” platform all lost.
“The mainstream Republicans rallied and they beat all four of these medical freedom slate candidates. So maybe the tide is turning a little bit on the meter, which way the wind blows in that particular fashion. So that was maybe unexpected,” Newborn said.
Sheridan said because the primary was only for Republicans, some Democrats changed their party affiliation just to be able to vote.
“So it probably was Republicans mainly coming together against them, but some Democrats added their voices to that,” Sheridan added.
‘Do your homework’
As the November election approaches, Newborn advised people to do their research if they aren’t familiar with the candidates.
“I mean, there's tons of articles out there. Go to their website, read up on what they propose, read up on who they back, what they want to do.”
