The results are for the election races in Gadsden County on Tuesday.
This year’s Mid-term General Election turnout was down 11 percent compared to 2018.
Alonzetta Johnson-Simpkins is the winner of Gadsden County commissioner district 2 seat.
Johnson-Simpkins secured 9 percent more than her opponent Larry Clayton.
County Commissioner district 4 incumbent Brenda Holt was re-elected after receiving 89 percent of the votes. The other 11 percent were write-ins.
This will be Holt’s fifth consecutive term in office.
Both incumbents in the school board member races were re-elected.
Steve Scott boxed, receiving 55 percent of the votes boxed out opponent Rodney Moore.
In the school board member district 4 with Charlie Frost secured 52 percent of the votes compared to Cynthia Hayes-Riley’s 48 percent.
In the race for the soil and water seat, Michael Brown beat out incumbent Sterling Lance Watson, 51 percent to 49 percent.
In the state elections, Republican candidate Governor Ron DeSantis with serve as Florida’s governor for a second term. Although the Democratic nominee former Governor Charlie Crist won Gadsden County by a landslide with 62 percent of the votes compared to DeSantis’ 37 percent.
Statewide, as of 10 p.m., with 88 percent of the precincts reporting, DeSantis was in the lead with an estimated 1.5 million more votes than Crist.
The outcome was similar in the United States senate race.
Democrat Val Demings won big in Gadsden County, earning 64 percent compared to 35 percent obtained by incumbent Republican Senator Marco Rubio; statewide however, Demings obtained only 41 percent of the vote, while Rubio was in the lead and the apparent winner with 58 percent.
Republicans secured another win with the attorney general race as incumbent Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Aramis Ayala in the statewide race.
In Gadsden, Ayala was the winner with 58 percent of the votes compared to Moody’s 42 percent.
The state representative race was the only election where Gadsden’s turnout reflected the state-level results.
Democrat Gallop Franklin defeated who had 65 percent of the votes in Gadsden, claimed a victory over Republican Curt Bender who only had 35 percent.
District-wide Franklin had 71 percent of the vote compared to Bender’s 29 percent.
Florida House District 8 covers south Tallahassee and extends west over part of Leon County and Gadsden County.
In the Florida Senate District 3 newcomer Corey Simon defeated incumbent Sen. Loranne Ausley.
While Ausley secured 63 percent of Gadsden’s votes to Simon’s 37. The former professional football player led district-wide race with 53 percent of the vote to Ausley’s 47 percent.
In the much-anticipated United States Congress Race Republican Rep. Neal Dunn defeated Gadsden County native Senator Al Lawson.
Although Lawson won Gadsden by a landslide with 65 percent of the vote to Dunn’s 35 percent, Dunn declared victory with 60 percent of the votes to Lawson’s 40 percent in the newly drawn Second Congressional District that includes most of North Florida.
Finally, a county referendum that will exempt new businesses from paying property taxes passed after receiving support from 60 percent of the voters.
Erin Hill – Gadsden County News Service