Twenty-five out of 30 school board candidates in Florida endorsed by state Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) either won their elections Tuesday night or advanced to a runoff.
The slate of school board candidates backed by the Republican governor prevailed in the vast majority of races, including in Miami-Dade County, where two DeSantis-backed candidates handily won their races.
DESANTIS TO CAMPAIGN FOR SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES AHEAD OF TUESDAY PRIMARY
DeSantis had touted his endorsement of the candidates as an extension of his education agenda, which to date has included a slew of legislative actions that have expanded civics education, defined parental rights, banned critical race theory, and, most infamously, prohibited classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation before fourth grade.
“These pro-parent, pro-student local school board candidates are committed to the DeSantis Education Agenda,” he said in a statement earlier this month, touting the endorsements. “Parental rights, curriculum transparency, and classrooms free of woke ideology are all on the ballot this election, and it starts with school board elections.”
Alachua County
Alachua County, which includes the city of Gainesville and the University of Florida, was the only locality without a DeSantis-backed school board candidate at least reaching a runoff election. Mildred Russell, a candidate for the board’s 2nd District, lost to Diyonne McGraw, who had received the backing of several local Democratic Party-affiliated groups, including the University of Florida College Democrats.
Brevard County
DeSantis’s preferred candidate in Brevard County, Megan Wright, crushed incumbent board member Misty Belford, garnering over 60% of the vote for the eastern Florida county’s 1st District school board seat.
Orlando News 6 reported that Belford said she didn’t know why she lost but that “there were a lot of … shenanigans that took place during this election.” Belford had voted in favor of a school mask mandate for the district during the coronavirus pandemic.
Clay County
In Clay County, a locality just south of Jacksonville, DeSantis backed Erin Skipper, who triumphed in her race for the seat representing the board’s 1st District. Skipper earned 55% of the vote for the seat to secure the victory.
The Clay County school district is facing a lawsuit by Wendell and Maria Perez, who accused the district in court filings of facilitating their daughter’s transition to a male gender identity without notifying them until their daughter had attempted to commit suicide twice in as many days.
Duval County
Two candidates backed by DeSantis emerged victorious in their respective races for seats on the Duval County School Board, which includes the city of Jacksonville. April Carney narrowly prevailed in the race for the board’s 2nd District, earning 52% of the vote over incumbent board member Elizabeth Andersen.
For the board’s 6th District seat, DeSantis endorsed incumbent Charlotte Joyce, who easily defeated challenger Tanya Hardaker. Joyce received 59% of the votes counted to Hardaker’s 41%.
Flagler County
DeSantis backed two candidates for seats on the Flagler County School Board, a county just north of Daytona Beach on the state’s northeastern coast. For the board’s 1st District seat, Jill Woolbright, an incumbent who earned DeSantis’s endorsement, narrowly lost to challenger Sally Hunt, 51.3% to 48.8%.
In the 4th District, DeSantis-endorsed candidate Christy Chong defeated incumbent board Chairman Trevor Tucker by an 11-point margin.
Hendry County
In the central south Florida county of Hendry, DeSantis endorsed incumbent Stephanie Busin, who will advance to a runoff election against challenger Joe Whitehead. Neither candidate received 50% of the vote, triggering the runoff.
Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County, which includes the city of Tampa, saw two DeSantis-endorsed school board candidates win their respective races. Second District incumbent Stacy Hahn handily defeated challenger Damaris Allen, 64% to 36%, and Patricia Rendon, with 53% of the vote, defeated two other candidates in the race for the 4th District seat.
A third DeSantis-backed candidate, Alysha Legge, lost her bid to unseat incumbent Karen Perez for the board’s 6th District seat.
Indian River County
In Indian River County on the Sunshine State’s eastern coast, DeSantis endorsed 2nd District incumbent Jacqueline Rosario, who garnered 47% of the vote for the seat and will face Democratic Party-backed Cynthia Gibbs in a runoff election.
Lee County
In western Florida’s Lee County, which includes the city of Fort Myers, DeSantis-endorsed Sam Fisher advanced to a runoff election against Kathy Fanny for the seat representing the board’s 1st District. Meanwhile, 5th District incumbent Gwynetta Gittens lost to DeSantis’s preferred candidate, Armor Persons, 55% to 45%.
Manatee County
Two of the three candidates endorsed by DeSantis for seats on the school board of Manatee County, south of Tampa, won their elections outright, while the third forced a runoff. In the 4th District, incumbent Chad Choate defeated challenger Sean Conley, 55% to 45%, while in the 5th District, DeSantis-backed Richard Tatem defeated two other candidates including incumbent James Golden. In the 2nd District, DeSantis-endorsed Cindy Spray advanced to a runoff against candidate Harold Byrd.
Martin County
DeSantis’s preferred candidate for the 3rd District seat on the school board of eastern Florida’s Martin County, Jennifer Russell, handily defeated her opponent, Elizabeth Bernstein, 56% to 44%.
Miami-Dade County
In the state’s most populous county of Miami-Dade, two DeSantis-backed candidates won their respective races for the school board, flipping control of the board to a conservative majority.
Roberto Alonso defeated two opponents to represent the board’s 4th District seat, garnering 57% of the vote. Meanwhile, in the race for the board’s 8th District seat, DeSantis-endorsed Monica Colucci defeated incumbent Marta Perez, 54% to 46%. Perez had been a member of the board since 1998.
Monroe County
The southern Florida county of Monroe saw one DeSantis-backed school board candidate win and a second lose. The governor backed Darren Horan for the school board’s 1st District seat, who defeated opponent Gabrielle Brown, 58% to 42%. In the 5th District, the governor’s preferred candidate, Alexandria Suarez, failed to unseat incumbent Sue Woltanski, losing by a 54%-46% margin.
Pasco County
In Pasco County, north of Tampa, DeSantis endorsed Al Hernandez in the race for the school board’s 1st District seat. Hernandez advanced to a runoff against candidate James Washington.
Polk County
Rick Nolte was DeSantis’s pick for 1st District school board seat in the central Florida county of Polk. Nolte defeated incumbent board member Sarah Fortney by a razor-thin 51%-49% margin.
Putnam County
In Putnam County east of Gainesville, Phil Leary, with DeSantis’s endorsement, was elected to the school board to represent the board’s 5th District seat. Leary defeated fellow candidate Kevin Whitlow, 60% to 40%.
Sarasota County
All three DeSantis-endorsed candidates in Sarasota County won their respective races. In the 1st District, incumbent Bridget Ziegler defeated challenger Dawnyelle Singleton, 57% to 43%. In the 4th District, Robyn Marinelli defeated Lauren Kurnov by a 53%-47% margin. And in the 5th District, Timothy Enos edged out Nora Cietek, 53% to 47%.
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Volusia County
Neither candidate endorsed by DeSantis in the Daytona Beach area county of Volusia won a seat outright, with one losing and the other advancing to a runoff election. First District incumbent and DeSantis-endorsed Jamie Haynes advanced to a runoff against challenger Al Bouie, while DeSantis’s preferred 5th District candidate Fred Lowry lost to incumbent and board Chairman Ruben Colon.
