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2024 Primary Election Results

The 2024 Primary Election wrapped up yesterday. Click here to see local and statewide race results from across north central Florida, and scroll down to read highlights:

Union leader James Ingle will join the Gainesville City Commission after winning the primary with 62% of the vote. Ingle told WUFT that on his first day as a commissioner, he will work to regain the city’s control over Gainesville Regional Utilities.

Alachua County Sheriff Democratic candidate Chad Scott secured 51% of the vote, beating Latrell Simmons with 29% and Peter King with 20%. He will go on to face incumbent Republican Emery Gainey and No Party Affiliation candidate Pamela Marshall-Koons in the general election in November.

David Vincent is currently the chief of police for the Citrus County School District and beat out incumbent Sheriff Michael Prendergast by over 25%. Prendergast outspent Vincent nearly 2-to-1, had held the office since 2016 and won both of his previous two elections with at least 70% of the vote. Before becoming sheriff, he was the director of the state veteran’s affairs department under then-Gov. Rick Scott.

In the race for Bradford County Superintendent of Schools, incumbent Will Hartley fended off a challenge from fellow Republican Tracey Kendrick. That's despite Kendrick outspending him by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Hartley faces No Party Affiliation candidate Alan Bhajan in November to retain the seat for a second term.

Incumbent Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter lost the seat to challenger Wallace Kitchings, who detailed his gun violence-related reasons for running in WUFT's voter guide answers earlier this month. Hunter outspent Kitchings and still lost.

Levy County Commission District 5 featured the closest race across all of north central Florida in this year's primary. Johnny Hiers edged out Zack Bullock by 20 votes out of more than 10,000 cast across the county.

Several Florida counties faced issues reporting election results to the public due to an unspecified glitch involving a website vendor. “This was an issue with their public-facing websites. It had nothing to do with the data or the votes being transmitted to the Department of State,” Secretary of State Cord Byrd said at a press conference.

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Today's Florida stories

Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention also wrapped up yesterday. Among the topics of discussion were Gen Z's involvement in the party, the importance of school board elections and sustaining Jewish votes amid the Israel-Hamas war. Florida Democrats said they have full confidence in presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

• Florida Storms: Debby by the Numbers: Floods, Rain, Tornadoes And More. "In Debby's week-long tenure along the eastern United States, it caused more than a billion dollars in damages along the Atlantic Seaboard and was directly responsible for the deaths of least 9 people."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua mayor wins lifetime achievement award. "Coerper said he had no idea he had been chosen for the award and had even forgotten it would be given out. He said he was caught 'with my mouth open,' though the Alachua commissioners and city manager who were sitting with him knew ahead of time and had their cameras ready."

• NPR: Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood is on borrowed time. A film is documenting it all. "The film Mountains tells the story of a family that’s experiencing the changes firsthand in Little Haiti. It’s shot with a Haitian American cast with dialogue in Haitian Creole and is being released nationwide this month."

• Central Florida Public Media: Central Florida continues to have a school bus driver shortage problem. "In Orange County, 100 bus drivers are still needed. In some cases, drivers are doubling up on bus routes. To alleviate the shortage, the district is offering bonuses up to $16,000 over the next two years."

• WUSF-Tampa: Sarasota airport withdraws a controversial land sale to New College. "The Sarasota-Manatee airport authority CEO said he rescinded the offer after it became clear the FAA was not likely to approve it."

From NPR News

• National: A settlement is reached in D'Vontaye Mitchell's death. Here's what we know

• National: The final report is out in an investigation into Maine's deadliest mass shooting

• Elections: Puerto Rico's delegates called for the island to become a U.S. state. Here's the context

• Politics: From vasectomies to abortion pills, Planned Parenthood sets up mobile clinic near DNC

• Health: Mushroom edibles are making people sick. Scientists still don't know why

• Business: These Swifties are out thousands of dollars — but there’s no ‘bad blood’ for Taylor

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.