Election 2024 results for north central Florida

Citrus County voters reelected Republican candidate Holly Davis to a county commission seat Tuesday night in a decisive race. Davis won by a margin of 70,017 votes (75.80%) over no party affiliate candidate Paul Grogan.

It's a larger margin than her previous win in 2020, when Davis received about 64% of the vote.

Her top campaign promises this year included developing a strategic plan, stimulating economic development, getting road maintenance on track, improving county communications and protecting the county's water.

Davis received nearly $90,000 in contributions for her 2024 campaign but spent only about two-thirds of it.

Suwannee County voters elected Adam Hitt as the newest member of Suwannee County School Board District 1. Hitt won by a margin of 476 votes, or 55.47%.

Hitt, 43, was born and raised in Suwannee County and has worked in the school system as a coach, mentor and academic booster. He served as the chairman of the Westwood Christian School Board in Live Oak from 2021 to 2023.

Each member of Hitt’s family is involved in the school system in some capacity. His wife, Jennifer, is a sixth-grade teacher at Suwannee Middle School. His sons, Braxton and AJ, are students in the school district.

Hitt owns and operates a family pest control business called Hitt Pest Control, which has operated in Suwannee County since 1988.

Hitt will succeed Jerry Taylor, who is retiring from the seat after 28 years.

Citrus County voters elected nonpartisan candidate Ken Frink to the school board's District 2 seat on Tuesday night. Frink won by a margin of roughly 16,000 votes 59.6%.

Frink will succeed incumbent Ginger Bryant, who is retiring this year after 24 years. Bryant endorsed Frink for the election, according to his Facebook page.

Frink led the four-way primary election in August, receiving about 46% of the vote.

Frink is an executive manager and an engineer, having served positions within the Southwest Florida Water Management District and as the City Manager for Crystal River.

He resigned as city manager after marrying Councilwoman Cindi “Guy” Frink.

Frink outspent Smith in the race, using nearly every dollar of the $72,944 that he raised — compared to Smith’s total spend of $46,029.

Hernando County voters elected Michelle Bonczek as the District 4 representative on the school board on Tuesday night by about 10 percentage points.

Bonczek won by a margin of 51,104 (54.97%) votes.

Bonczek said she is feeling great after the win. “I did everything I could do,” she said.

Michelle Bonczek and Mark E. Cioffi were vying for the open seat left by incumbent Gus Guadagnino, who chose not to seek re-election. Cioffi dramatically outspent Bonczek in the race, $68,697 to $3,635.

During the primary election, Bonczek, Cioffi and Gregg Laskoski split the vote, with Bonczek receiving 28.84%, Cioffi securing 44.34% and Laskoski getting 26.81%.

Bonczek is a Florida native. She was born in New Port Richey but moved to Hernando County when she was 9. She also worked as a substitute teacher at Deltona Elementary and Explorer K-8. She is now a stay-at-home mother.

Now that the election is over, Bonczek is ready to get to work.

“So hopefully, after I get sworn in, we can get to business and start to really make our schools great,” she said.

Palatka County voted to reelect Anne Marie Gennusa as a county judge on Tuesday night in a very close race between her opponent Alex Sharp.

Gennusa won by a margin of 16,187 to 15,961 votes, narrowly avoiding a mandatory recount. 

Gennusa’s victory comes after she was originally appointed to the bench in 2023. Before becoming a judge, Gennusa owned and acted as managing partner of her law firm, Gennusa Law, in Pennsylvania for 22 years. She earned her law degree from Temple University School of Law and studied Human Resource Management and Government Contracting at Villanova University, earning a dual degree as well.

Gennusa’s total expenditures for her campaign topped $95,000, some $22,000 more than her opponent.

Bradford County voters elected Will Hartley to continue as the county’s Superintendent of Schools. The incumbent won by a margin of 11,100 votes ( 83.8%). Hartley was able to raise over $13,000 for his campaign, spending all but about $800 of it.

Alan Bhajan donated nearly $5,000 to his own campaign. The money was used to pay fees associated with running for superintendent.

Hartley defeated Republican opponent Tracey Kendrick by a margin of 40% in the August primary.

The incumbent ran as a no party affiliation candidate in 2020, but has since switched to the Republican Party.

Hartley taught in Starke for 10 years and comes from a family of educators, including his parents both of whom worked in the school district for 30 years.

Florida voters Tuesday rejected creating a constitutional right to abortion, a political win for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that will keep in place the state’s ban on most abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy.

It’s the first ballot measure victory for abortion opponents in any state since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, a decision that ended the nationwide right to abortion and opened the door to bans in most GOP-controlled states, protections in Democrat-dominated ones and new political and legal battles across the country.

The Florida measure failed to clear the required 60% voter approval threshold to pass constitutional amendments in Florida. Most states require a simple majority.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the result is “a momentous victory for life in Florida and for our entire country,” praising DeSantis for leading the charge against the measure.

DeSantis, a Republican with a national profile, has steered state GOP funds to the cause. His administration has weighed in, too, with a campaign against the measure, investigators questioning people who signed petitions to add it to the ballot and threats to TV stations that aired one commercial supporting it.

The defeat makes permanent a shift in the Southern abortion landscape that began when the state’s six-week ban took effect in May. That removed Florida as a destination for abortion for many women from nearby states with deeper bans and also led to far more women from the state traveling to obtain abortion. The nearest states with looser restrictions are North Carolina and Virginia — hundreds of miles away.

“The reality is because of Florida’s constitution a minority of Florida voters have decided Amendment 4 will not be adopted,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for the Yes on 4 Campaign. “The reality is a majority of Floridians just voted to end Florida’s abortion ban.”

Florida is one of nine states with abortion-related ballot questions in Tuesday’s election.

A costly campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida failed Tuesday as voters in dozens of states weighed more than 140 measures appearing on the ballot alongside races for president and top state offices.

Florida was one of several states deciding high-profile marijuana measures and was among 10 states considering amendments related to abortion or reproductive rights. About two dozen measures are focused on future elections, including several specifically barring noncitizens from voting. Other state measures affect wages, taxes, housing and education, including a school choice measure that was defeated in Kentucky.

Many of the ballot measures were initiated by citizen petitions that sidestep state legislatures, though others were placed before voters by lawmakers.

The Florida marijuana amendment fell short of the 60% supermajority needed to approve constitutional amendments. It would have allowed recreational sales of marijuana to people over 21 from existing medical marijuana dispensaries, with the potential for the Legislature to license additional retailers.

The campaign was funded predominantly by Florida’s largest medical marijuana operator, Trulieve, which had provided almost $145 million of the $153 million campaign through the end of October. The measure was opposed by the Florida Republican Party and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said it would reduce the quality of life by leaving a marijuana stench in the air.

Incumbent candidate Homer “Gator” DeLoach won his third election in a row as Putnam County Sheriff in a landslide victory, securing 83% of the county's votes over candidate Edison Edison.

This marks his third consecutive victory, after wins in 2016 and 2020.

DeLoach, an employee in the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office since 2001, has held the position of sheriff since 2017, emphasizing crime reduction and community-focused law enforcement.

Known for his commitment to reducing juvenile crime and prioritizing de-escalation training, DeLoach has also focused on school safety by implementing the Guardian Program, which places armed and trained personnel in schools.

The campaign was almost entirely free of spending, with DeLoach raising a little over $1,000 and spending $35. Edison raised and spent nothing.

In neighboring Alachua County, the two top vote-getters combined to spend over $300,000 in the 2024 cycle.

Gilchrist County voters elected Tammy Moore for the District 4 school board Tuesday night. This runoff election was a landslide. Moore received 58% of votes and her opponent, Patricia Hodge Philman, received 42% of votes.

This runoff election remained in Moore’s favor based on the results of the primary election in August. Of the 4,831 votes cast in the primary election, Moore received the most votes of 1,981. Philman received the second most votes with 1,832.

Dena Griffith, the third candidate in the race, did not advance after the primary election.

As a school board member, Moore said she will seek to improve parental involvement and continue to improve school safety standards.

This will be Moore’s first time serving on the school board, but not her first time working in local government. Moore has worked for the Gilchrist County Board of County Commissioners for 23 years and 12 of those as its HR director. She also worked as a personnel clerk and office manager.

Moore will replace incumbent Gina Geiger, who held the position for eight years before winning the election for superintendent in August.

Moore spent $1,771 on her campaign while her opponent spent $5,390.

Incumbent Democrat Carolyn Brown Spooner defeated Republican Shannon Smith for the Bradford County Commission District 1 seat.

Spooner won 56% of the roughly 2,000 votes cast in her district.

Smith, a Starke City Commissioner, was the better funded of the two candidates, raising and spending nearly $2,000 more than Spooner.

Spooner, a Bradford County native, was first elected to the county commission in 2020, when she won by fewer than 200 votes. She currently serves as the board’s chair. She also spent 13 years working for the City of Starke, including three terms as mayor.

Her priorities for the new term include improving roads and infrastructure, developing a capital improvement plan and imposing a fire assessment, according to a questionnaire she completed for a Jacksonville news station.

Smith runs a family body shop in Starke. His goals if elected included lowering taxes and bringing revenue to the local fire department, according to an interview with WCJB.

Incumbent John Allocco claimed an easy victory over opponents Burton Melaugh and Luciano Vignali to return to the Hernando County Commission.

Allocco, a Republican, beat out primary opponent Marvin Baynham in August, en route to ultimately winning a third term in office Tuesday with 65%% of the vote.

The Democrat, Vignali, earned 30% of the vote while no-party affiliate candidate Melaugh won 5%.

Allocco dominated in campaign finance this cycle, raising and spending over $117,000. Melaugh's spending was the next closest at $18,000.

Columbia County voters decided against incumbent Ron Williams, instead choosing Kevin Parnell as a new county commissioner Tuesday night. Parnell was roughly 500 votes ahead of his opponent, winning 55%.

Parnell received roughly $6,000 in contributions and spent most of it compared to his opponent, Williams, who raised roughly $8,000 and spent less than 10% of it.

As a fourth-generation farmer, Parnell has spent most of his life tending to crops and livestock. Parnell said on his campaign website that he decided to enter the race “to run a positive and successful campaign.”

He confirmed that intention on Tuesday night after winning.

“I promised my family and myself that I would run a positive and clean campaign,” said Parnell.

He also wants to work with his fellow county commissioners to “bring positive change not only to the community of District 1 but all five districts in Columbia County.”

“Thank you District 1 constituents for believing in me,” he said.

Suwannee County elected Sam St. John as its sheriff on Tuesday night in a landslide outcome.

St. John, a Republican, earned 75% of the vote, beating the no-party affiliate candidate Harry K. Weaver by a margin of 16,094 to 5,300.

St. John raised $80,050 for his campaign and spent $66,379 of it. Weaver raised $25,648 and spent nearly all of it.

He has served Suwannee County for eight years. In the 2016 and 2020 elections, St. John raised nearly double the amount of money as his opponents.

He also won the 2020 contest over a challenger by collecting 76% of the vote.

“This is my third time running,” St. John said. “People have the faith and confidence to give me contributions. They don’t want to give money to someone who won’t fulfill their needs.”

Kat Cammack, R-Gainesville, was reelected for a third term to represent Florida’s 3rd Congressional District by a landslide win over Democrat Tom Wells.

With three quarters of the votes counted, Cammack received over 60% of votes. This margin is larger than Cammack’s 2022 win, when 62.5% of voters elected Cammack over her Democratic opponent, Danielle Hawk.

Cammack declared her win on X 19 minutes after her district’s polls closed, publishing on her personal account in response to a @DecisionDeskHQ election result post: “Thank you, #FL03! I’m so proud to represent this amazing district and to keep up our continued momentum. It’s time to keep fighting!”

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Annie Henderson Davis, a Palatka native, defeated former City Commissioner Allegra Kitchens Tuesday night for the Group 1 seat of Palatka’s City Commission. It will be her first time holding public office.

Henderson Davis, who moved back to her hometown last year after spending most of her adult life in Georgia, won 66% of the vote, securing a landslide victory over Kitchens by a margin of 2,243 to 1,175.

“I am very excited and happy,” Henderson Davis said, “but more than anything, while this (campaign) has been a labor of love, the real work begins.”

In January, Henderson Davis will replace incumbent Tammie McCaskill Valentine, who ended her reelection campaign in February. Some of Henderson Davis’ top priorities are improving citizens’ quality of life, enhancing public safety and allocating public dollars to support essential services.

“I look forward to working with the fellow commissioners, the mayor and the city staff so we can get started on making Palatka better,” she said.

Henderson Davis raised $6,730 for her campaign, about $1,900 more than Kitchens, although both candidates spent about the same amount of money.

Before running for office, Henderson Davis was a healthcare project management professional. She was also on the board of several community and civic organizations. Kitchens, who served as a commissioner from 2007 to 2015, worked at the Putnam County Property Appraiser’s Office for 36 years.

Courtesy City of Palatka

Putnam County reelected Will Jones for the Group 3 City Commission seat on Tuesday night in a close vote.

Palatka City Commission seats are nonpartisan.

Jones earned 56% of the vote, beating van Rensburg by a margin of 1,960 to 1,533.

Jones raised $4,887 and spent $3,083. Van Rensburg raised $7,347 for her campaign and spent $6,478 of it.

In 2020, Jones won the Group 3 Palatka City Commission seat. He is a Palatka native.

“I feel great,” Jones said. “The people support me. [I’ll] continue to serve as their city commissioner.”

A new face will join the Lafayette County Board of County Commissioners for the next four years after Andrew Branche beat incumbent Earnest Jones on Tuesday night.

Branche, a Republican, earned 71.5% of the vote, beating the Democrat Jones by a margin of 2,632 to 1,050.

Branche is an equipment operator and spent $150 on his campaign. Jones raised $1,000 for his campaign, spending $354.

Levy County elected Matt Brooks as the Levy County Clerk of Court on Tuesday night in a landslide vote.

Brooks, a Republican, earned 67% of the vote, beating the no-party affiliate candidate Kerkhoff by a margin of 15,842 to 7,813.

Brooks raised $56,801 and spent $54,356. Kerkhoff raised $64,902 for her campaign and spent nearly all of it.

Brooks will replace Danny Shipp, who served as Levy County Clerk for 24 years. In 2020, Brooks won the District 5 Levy County Commissioner seat.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Florida and served in the Army.

The Associated Press projected just after 8 p.m. that former President Donald Trump will win Florida.

He was leading the state over Vice President Kamala Harris with 55% of the vote.

Gov. Ron DeSantis also declared Trump victorious in a post on X.

NAPLES, Fla. — Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is hoping being reelected to a second term will put him in a position to earn a Senate leadership role, while former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell seeks an upset victory that could help her party maintain its razor-thin control of the chamber.

Scott hopes to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is stepping down as the GOP leader. A win for him would also reaffirm the strength of the Republican Party in the state despite ballot measures on abortion rights and recreational marijuana l egalization that Democrats hope will drive up turnout.

Mucarsel-Powell is running two years after Democrats lost all five statewide seats on the ballot in Republican landslides. She was elected to represent a Miami district in 2018 and was the first Ecuadorian American and South American-born congressional member. She lost her reelection to U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez in 2020.

Four in 10 Florida voters said the economy and jobs is the top issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationally, including more than 4,700 voters in Florida. About 2 in 10 Florida voters said immigration is the most pressing issue, and about 1 in 10 named abortion.

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