Milligan, Hall and Hosford

declared local winners

(Republicans sweep the field statewide)

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Republican candidates swept the field in races across Florida and in Jefferson County on election night, with the biggest local surprise the upset victory of newcomer Austin Hosford over incumbent Betsy Barfield in the County Commission, District 4 race.
Noteworthy also were the local wins of Republican Michelle Milligan and Democratic incumbent Gene Hall in their respective races. Milligan easily won the Supervisor of Elections post, and Hall handily retained his County Commission District 2 seat.
Meanwhile, across the state, Republican candidates easily won reelection. Declared winners were incumbents Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Neal Dunn, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moore and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.
Elected also in statewide contests were Republicans Wilton Simpson, as Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, and Corey Simon, as Florida Senator for District 3.
Jefferson County’s voter turnout was 74.33 percent, putting it among the state’s top-ranking counties for turnout, with 7,152 ballots cast out of 9,622 registered voters.
Following are the results of the local elections, as posted by the Jefferson County Elections Office.
In the County Commission, District 2 race, Hall received 750 votes (71.16%) to the 304 votes (28.84%) received by Libertarian (LPF) opponent candidate Paul Henry.
In the County Commission, District 4 race, Hosford received 1,033 votes (58.96%) to Barfield’s 719 votes (41.04%). Barfield ran as a No Party Affiliation (NPA) candidate.
And in the Supervisor of Elections race, Milligan received 4,399 votes (62.50%) to Democratic opponent Althera “Thebo” Johnson’s 2,639 votes (37.50%).
In the statewide races, the local results were as follows:
U.S. Senate: Marco Rubio, 4,137 votes (58.05%) to Democratic opponent Val Demings’ 2,929 votes (41.10%). Other candidates in this race were Dennis Misigoy (LPF), 24 votes (0.34%); Steven B. Grant, NPA, 24 votes (0.34%); Tuan TQ Nguyen (NPA), 10 votes (0.14%); and 3 write-ins votes (0.04%).
U.S. Congress Representative, District 2: Dunn, 4,137 votes (58.19%) to Democratic opponent Al Lawson’s 2,973 votes (41.81%).
Governor: DeSantis, 4,310 votes (60.47%) to 2,776 votes (38.95%) for Democratic opponent Charlie Crist. Other candidates in this race were Hector Roos (LPF) 14 votes (0.20%), and Carmen Jackie Gimenez (NPA), 27 votes (0.38%).
Attorney General: Moody, 4,459 votes (63.03%), to 2,615 votes (36.97%) for Democratic opponent Aramis Ayala.
Chief Financial Officer: Patronis, 4,318 votes (61.55%), to 2,697 votes (38.45%) for Democratic opponent Adam Hattersley.
Commissioner of Agriculture: Simpson, 4,287 votes (61.06%), to 2,734 votes (38.94%) for Democratic opponent Naomi Esther Blemur.
State Senator, District 3: Simon, 4,114 votes (58.14%), to 2,962 votes (41.86%) for Democratic incumbent Loranne Ausley.
As for the three legislature-proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot, all three failed to get the required 60% threshold needed for approval, although a majority of Floridians voted for each.
Amendment 1 would have allowed lawmakers to give a tax exemption to homeowners who invested to make their properties more flood resistant.
Amendment 2 sought to abolish the 37-member Constitution Revision Commission, which meets every 20 years to propose changes to the state constitution.
Amendment 3 would have given an additional $50,000 homestead exemption from some local property taxes to certain job categories, including classroom teachers, law enforcement and correctional officers, and firefighters, EMTs and paramedics.