Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Registered voters are reminded that early voting for the primary begins on Monday, Aug. 3, and runs through Aug. 16, with the primary Election Day set for Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Early voting is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the elections office, located at 1175 W. Washington St.
Meanwhile, the last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the primary is Thursday, Aug. 6.
Two local elections will be on the primary. These are the Jefferson County School Board, districts 2 and 3, races. The candidates in the school board District 2 race are Jamia Bradley, Donnie Burdick and Miranda Gillyard Gilley. This is a nonpartisan contest that may be decided in the primary if one of the candidates receives 50% of the votes plus one. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters will go on the general election in November.
In the school board, District 3, race, the candidates are incumbent Brenda Bentley Wirick and challenger Shirley Washington. This race will be decided in the primary.
The only other local office up for election is the county commission District 4 race between Republican incumbent Austin Hosford and Democratic challenger Lois Howell-Hunter. This race, however, will not appear on the primary, as it will be decided in the general election.
Other contests on the primary, other than for the local ones, include the statewide races for Florida governor and lieutenant governor, state attorney general, state agricultural commissioner, chief financial officer and U.S. Senate. What candidates a particular voter gets to choose in the primary depends on the individual voter’s district, political party affiliation and the number of candidates running for office.
For example, in the governor’s, which is statewide, the choices for Republican-registered voters are Jay Collins, Byron Donalds, James Fishback, Jim Holcomb, Arthur McCaffrey, Daniel Nokivich, Paul Renner, Rachel Rodriguez, James Shaw, Caneste Succe and Bobby Williams. For Democrat-registered voters, the choices in the governor’s race are Evelyn Castillo-Bach, Thomas Fernandez, Dayna Marie Foster, David Jolly, Dotie Joseph and Stephann Norman. There are also 11 candidates who are write-ins or have no party affiliation. Whichever candidates prevail in the primary in the different races then proceed to the general election and face the candidates from other political affiliations.
To prepare for voting, residents can check their voter registration status, view a sample ballot and access other election information at jeffersonvotesfl.gov. The Monticello News will publish its 2026 Election Guide on Aug. 5, featuring a photo guide to candidates in the national, state and local races plus seven local candidates' answers to our questions.