Rep. Michael Waltz. | Ted Shaffrey, AP
Published on December 26, 2024 at 11:45 am
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With U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz leaving office, voters in southern St. Johns County will have another chance to decide who will represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Waltz, R-St. Augustine, was reelected last month by a wide margin to represent District 6, but he announced he would vacate his seat after President-elect Donald Trump tapped him as his national security adviser.
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Ahead of a special election April 1 to select Waltz’s successor, voters will winnow down a pool of nine candidates in a special primary election Jan. 28. St. Johns County residents who live in District 6 have until the end of the day Monday to register to vote on the race.
The election is open to about 32,000 registered voters in District 6, which includes Elkton, Hastings, St. Augustine Shores as well as Flagler and Putnam counties and parts of Volusia, Marion and Lake counties.
The nine candidates who qualified to run for the seat include three Democrats, three Republicans, a Libertarian, one no-party-affiliated candidate and a write-in candidate.
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Republican voters will select from contractor Aaron Baker of Sorrento, entrepreneur Ehsan Joarder and Florida Sen. Randy Fine (R-Melbourne Beach).
Fine, who has been a staunch supporter of Trump, received the president-elect’s endorsement for the seat. During his time in the Florida Legislature, Fine gained statewide attention for opposition to drag shows and protections for transgender individuals.
Fine also has been criticized by his opponents for the congressional seat as a member of the “deep state” and a “terrible human being.”
Candidates need only be a resident of the state they’re running for office to represent, but none of the Republican candidates vying for Waltz’s seat currently live in the district they want to represent. Baker lives in Lake County, Joarder in the Tampa area and Fine in Brevard County.
Democrats running for Waltz’s seat include pharmacy technician Purvi Bangdiwala of Ormond Beach, businessman George Selmont of Elkton and Osceola County teacher Josh Weil.
Of the Democrats running, Bangdiwala and Selmont live in the district they’re running for, while Weil lives farther south.
Candidates from minor parties running for the congressional seat include Andrew Parrott who is running as a Libertarian candidate; anti-abortion activist and former Constitution Party presidential candidate Randall Terry, who is running unaffiliated with a political party; and retired contractor Chuck Sheridan, who is running as a write-in candidate.
Parrott lives in Ocala, and Sheridan lives in Merritt Island. Terry, however, has a Tennessee address on his filing paperwork and has previously said that he lives in Memphis.
St. Johns County voters who are unsure which congressional district they live in can use this tool on the supervisor of elections website to check their eligibility.
Sample ballots for the primary election are expected to go out to eligible registered voters during the first week of January.
