One of Florida’s most-powerful lawmakers and a North Miami Democrat touting a “grassroots” campaign are competing in the Nov. 8 election to become state agriculture commissioner. Outgoing Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Trilby Republican and egg farmer, has more name recognition, political connections and funding as he goes up against Naomi Blemur, the first Haitian-American to be a major-party candidate
Florida voters next month will choose a state chief financial officer who will have a big role in trying to reform the property-insurance system, as the industry faces an uncertain future exacerbated by billions of dollars in claims from Hurricane Ian. Republican Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is seeking another four-year term in the Cabinet post, with Democrat Adam Hattersley,
Former Orlando-area State Attorney Aramis Ayala is making a “longshot” bid to unseat Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody, saying a key issue is the independence of Florida’s top legal officer. But as with other contests this year for state Cabinet seats, the race between Ayala and Moody is an undercard to elections for governor and U.S. Senate and has made
Florida voters are being asked to decide whether to approve two property-tax measures and the fate of the state’s Constitution Revision Commission. Lawmakers placed three proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot, including two that would provide property-tax breaks. One of those measures, which will appear on the ballot as Amendment 1, would prevent properties’ assessed values from going up because
Voters don’t pick Florida Supreme Court and appellate judges, but they can fire them through a nonpartisan “merit retention vote” in the November election. Lower-level county court and circuit judges are elected by voters, with runoffs during the November election between the top two vote-getters from the nonpartisan August judicial primaries. Races in this guide are sorted by largest area
Jacksonville sheriff candidates Lakesha Burton (D) and T.K. Waters (R) answered questions about crime, police misconduct, money and more during Thursday’s candidate debate hosted by Jacksonville Today and the Jacksonville Bar Association. It was their first public debate since the August 23 election, when Waters got 47% of the vote to Burton’s 33%. Because no candidate got more than half
Challenger Tanya Hardaker and incumbent Charlotte Joyce are facing off to represent District 6 on the Duval County School Board. Because there are only two candidates, the August primary will determine the outcome. District 6 covers most of southwest Duval County, including Argyle Forest, Avondale and Riverside. It’s a nonpartisan race, which means all District 6 voters will be able
Two candidates are running in Duval County School Board District 2, a non-partisan race. The August race, which would normally serve as a “jungle primary” to narrow the field, will decide who takes the seat. The district covers the Beaches portion of Duval County. Meet the candidates Candidates are presented in alphabetical order; answers are from the candidate forum hosted
Four Democrats are on the August ballot for the newly drawn state House District 14. The previous District 14 was represented by Democrat Angie Nixon, who is now running in District 13 after the Florida Legislature’s redistricting. The race is closed, meaning only voters registered as Democrats can cast a ballot. That’s because of a last-minute, write-in candidate filing from
The Duval County School Board is asking property owners to pitch in more for public schools. All Duval voters are eligible to cast a ballot in the August referendum. What’s on the ballot The ballot asks voters to tick yes or no on whether the school district should “levy an ad valorem operating millage of 1 mill annually to attract