adminWhen all was said and done last night, nearly three million Floridians cast their ballots in the primary election, a voter turnout of 23.85 percent. In the end, ballots were cast statewide for elections ranging from US Senate to local supervisors of elections. The top race being watched around the country is Florida’s US Senate seat where the incumbent, Marco Rubio – who has been endorsed by LSCU – easily defeated three other GOP challengers, taking home 72 percent of the vote. Rubio will face Democratic nominee Patrick Murphy, who defeated four opponents, including Congressman Alan Grayson, with 59 percent of the vote. LSCU will be a sponsor at the October debate between Rubio and Murphy in a seat that will have major implications on control of the United States Senate. For the full US Senate primary election results, visit click here.
In the Congressional races, LSCU endorsed candidate Mary Thomas narrowly lost her bid to be the Republican nominee for District 2. Thomas, a political outsider, was defeated by Dr. Neal Dunn, a surgeon from Panama City, FL. This was one of the closer congressional primaries of the night, with 1,700 votes separating the two candidates. LSCU and CUNA were heavily involved in this race, working with credit unions to send pro-Mary Thomas mailers to voters in the district, touting her support for credit union issues. While she did not win, Mary specifically thanked credit unions in her comments to supporters last night, highlighting that our involvement helped bridge a gap to making this a much closer race than it would have been otherwise. Special thanks to the credit unions who helped participate in a partisan communication on Mary’s behalf. For full Congressional results, please click here.
The state legislature will see many new faces, both in the House and the Senate. There were several surprises in this year’s primary elections; however, none should make much of a difference in the balance of power in Florida’s Capitol. Republicans are still expected to maintain a large majority of seats, meaning incoming Senate President Joe Negron (R-Palm City) and Speaker Richard Corcoran (R-Land O’Lakes) will be well positioned to forward their chambers’ agendas. In the Senate, one election remains undetermined as the primary between current State Reps. Ed Narain (D-Tampa) and Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg) is still too close to call. Rouson has received 28.59 percent of the votes to Narain’s 28.43 percent, triggering an automatic machine recount. This election likely won’t be determined for a few days. For a complete rundown of Florida Senate primaries, click here. For a rundown of Florida House primaries, click here.
The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 8th, so make sure you get out and vote!
