The following are the results of Tuesday’s primary election for Santa Rosa County:
Republican Jeff Miller won the District 1 seat for U.S. Representative in Congress beating Republican John Krause by almost a 3 to 1 margin.
Republican Doug Broxson won the District 3 seat for the Florida House of Representatives beating Republican Jamie Smith with 70% of the vote.
Democrat George Sheldon won his primary for Attorney General against Perry Thurston. He’ll face Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer and incumbent Attorney General Republican Pam Bondi in November.
Jennie Kinsey defeated Michelle Inere for circuit judge of the first judicial circuit, group 22.
Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott handedly won his primary race and will face previous Governor Charlie Crist who served from 2007 to 2011. Crist declined to run for re-election in 2010 so he could run for Senate. After losing to Tea Party candidate Marco Rubio, he announced in November he would run for governor again this year.
In a similar race, Bob Cole beat Jim Melvin for the District 2 seat of the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners by 35 votes, half a percentage point. Redistricting placed BOCC Chairman Melvin, at the end of his first term, in District 2 forcing a race against 12-year Commissioner Cole. Supervisor of Elections, Tappie Villane, said the provisional votes still need to be counted, which will happen Friday. If the vote has a half of a percentage point or less, she said, there will be a recount. Melvin said the race was incredibly close, but he was disappointed by the turnout. The elections office reported 14.74% of registered voters cast their ballots. Assuming the official election results after the provisional votes favor Cole, Melvin said he’ll do what he said he planned to do, play with grandbabies. “I don’t need the job, but it’s been an honor to serve the people of Santa Rosa County,” he said. Cole still faces Independent Wallis Mahute in the November general election.
Melvin’s move to District 2 left a wide-open gap in District 4. The race featured 6 candidates with Rob Williamson beating a close second, James Broxson, by 821 votes, roughly 6 percentage points.
The two SRC School Board races featured a clear winner for District 1 and a squeaker in District 3. Sandra Nicely challenged District 1 Chairperson Diane Scott but lost by a 2 to 1 vote difference. Four challengers battled for Diane Coleman’s District 3 seat on the school board. Jim Taylor edged out Carol Boston to win by 313 votes, a less than 2 percentage point difference.
Five new members became a part of Milton City Council starting with the election of a new mayor, Wesley Meiss. His election marks the end of an era. Guy Thompson said he has served the city of Milton for 36 years, 20 of those as mayor. “I look back at 36 years at all we accomplished and I’m proud of that. I know in my heart I did the good of all. We worked as a team on the council. It was not ‘me’ but a ‘we’ effort,” he said. Thompson said he called Meiss to congratulate him and said he would work with him in transition. Upon leaving the council, Thompson, executive director of the United Way of Santa Rosa County said he’ll have more time to devote to the UW. “My goal in life is helping other people. Both provided that opportunity. I’ll be able to do better where I’m at now,” he said.
Meiss left his Ward 1 Seat 1 vacant for opponents Ashley Lay and Gary Pruitt. Lay won by 457 votes. Also in Ward 1, Buddy Jordan of Seat 2 decided not to run for re-election. Jimmy Messick defeated Vernon Compton for Jordan’s seat by almost 400 votes.
Patsy Lunsford retained her Ward 2 Seat 1 position with the council, defeating challenger Spenser Andrade. Mary Ellen Johnson defeated Brian Kea for Ward 2 Seat 2 by 155 votes. The council appointed Kea to fill the seat of Clayton White who passed away in April.
Milton City Councilman Grady Hester of Ward 3 stepped down leaving a spot contested by Alan Lowery and Glen Hill. Lowery won by 148 votes.
Some time Friday the SRC Supervisor of Elections should have the official results after the provisional votes are handled, according to Villane.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: The 2014 primary election results have arrived