Primary Election Results; Two local winners emerge from primary

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Tuesday’s primary, as primaries are intended to do, refined the field of public office contenders; and locally, it spelled the downfall of two longtime incumbents and the rise of two newcomers.
According to the elections office, 4,258 of the county’s 9,499 registered voters cast ballots, making for a 44.83 percent turnout, which put the county at number one in the state for voter turnout, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
The local elections office’s website shows that 975 citizens early voted and another 1,133 voted by mail.

The two incumbents to fall were school board members Shirley Washington and Charles Boland, who were defeated by Brenda Wirick and Mags Flynt, respectively, in Districts 3 and 5.
In the nonpartisan primaries for school board seats, Wirick received 551 votes, or 55.71 percent, to Washington’s 438 votes, 44.29 percent, in the District 3 race. Flynt received 446 votes, or 53.61 percent, to Boland’s 307 votes, 36.90 percent, in the District 5 race. A third candidate in this last race was Ruby Grantham, who received 79 votes, 9.50 percent.

In the Republican race for Jefferson County Supervisor of Elections, Michelle Milligan outperformed Mike Fillyaw, which puts her next against Democrat candidate Althera J. Johnson in the general election.
In the Republican primary for elections supervisor, Milligan received 1,098 votes to Fillyaw’s 893, or 55.15 percent to 44.85 percent, respectively.

Other of primary winners both locally and statewide in the Democrat races were Val Demings, who now faces Republican incumbent Marco Rubio for the U.S. Senate seat; Charlie Crist, who now faces incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis; Aramis Ayala, who is challenging incumbent Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody; and Naomi Esther Blemur, who now faces Republican primary winner Wilton Simpson for Florida Agriculture Commissioner.