Final ballot! Here are your candidates for every local 2022 political race
Candidates for Florida's 2022 election are set after qualifying ended at noon on Friday and more than 60 candidates have qualified for races in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia County voters will be choosing two county commission seats and three school board seats in new districts drawn after the 2020 Census.
County Commission District 2 is an open seat forthe first time since 2014 after Doug Underhill decided to not run for a third term, and Perdido Key is no longer part of the district. Three Republican candidates are seeking to fill the seat left vacant by Underhill: Keven Brown, Micheal Kohler and Chance Walsh. With no other party or write-in opposition, the race is an open primary, meaning all registered voters can vote in the race on Aug. 23 and the vote on that day will be the decisive one.
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In District 4, incumbent Commissioner Robert Bender is facing a challenge from Stan McDaniels in the Republican primary. The winner of that race will have to face Democrat Myra Van Hoose in a general election contest on Nov. 8.
In Pensacola, one of the biggest races on the ballot will be the mayor's race where for the second election cycle in a row the incumbent has decided not to run for reelection.
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Two former council members, Jewel Cannada-Wynn and Sherri Myers, are seeking office. But political newcomer D.C. Reeves has a huge fundraising advantage in the seat as he competes with two council members and former Escambia County Sheriff's deputy Steven Sharp for the office.
District 4 Councilman Jared Moore qualified for office without any opposition, automatically being reelected for another four-year term.
Current Council President Ann Hill is facing two challengers in Allison Patton and Maureen "Mo" Padden in District 6.
Council District 2 is an open seat with former Councilman Charles Bare re-entering city politics and facing newcomers Charletha Powell, Brian Hoffman and Brian Wyer.
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At the federal level, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is facing multiple challengers for the Republican nomination in Mark Lombardo and Greg Merk. The winner of that contest will face either Rebekah Jones or Pegg Schiller in the general election.
In Santa Rosa County several of the races are highlighted by challengers to the incumbents in roles across the county.
The District 2 race for County Commissioner and District 5 race for school board both offer races without an incumbent after Bob Cole and Wei Ueberschaer have decided to step away from their respective roles. Both chaired their respective bodies.
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Five candidates are vying for the District 2 seat: Jeff Ates IV, Rickie Cotton Jr., Kerry Smith, Clifton Wheeler and Howard Steele.
The other county commission race in District 4 sees incumbent Dave Piech challenged by two others: Ray Eddington and Harlan Hall.
The three-way race for School Board District 5 includes Scott Peden, Pete Peters and Gregory Seltzer.
The town of Century will face a conundrum with no candidates filing to run for two of the three open seats on the town council.
Dominant issues at both the county-level government and school board center on the growth in the area. Projects like the massive Jubilee development and numerous new schools in the works are coming at a time when the county’s population has grown by about 24% over the last decade.
Drainage and infrastructure improvements are common spotlight issues in the county. Using American Rescue Plan Act funding, which came about last year in response to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the county earmarked six drainage-related projects totaling over $3 million in May.
Municipal elections in Milton and Gulf Breeze have separate periods for qualifying. In Milton, the qualifying period is Aug. 8-12 and in Gulf Breeze that period is Aug. 1-12.
Below is a list of the candidates running at the local, state and federal level.
Federal offices
U.S. Senate
Val Demings (D)
Steven B. Grant (NPA)
Dennis Misigoy (LPF)
Tuan TQ Nguyen (NPA)
Marco Rubio (R) (incumbent)
William Sanchez (D)
U.S. Representative District 1
Matt Gaetz (R) (incumbent)
Bryan Jones (R)
Rebekah Jones (D)
Mark Lombardo (R)
Greg Merk (R)
Peggy Schiller (D)
State Legislative offices
State Senate District 1
Doug Broxson (R) (incumbent)
John Mills (R)
Charlie Nichols (D)
State Representative District 1
Mike Hill (R)
Franscine Mathis (D)
Michelle Salzman (R) (incumbent)
State Representative District 2
Alex Andrade (R) (incumbent)
Jordan Karr (R)
Greg Litton (R)
Carollyn Rabeca Taylor (D)
State Representative District 3
Mariya Calkins (R)
Sandra Maddox (Write-in)
Joel Rudman (R)
Escambia County
Partisan Races
County Commission District 2 (Open Primary)
Kevin Brown (R)
Michael Kohler (R)
Chance Walsh (R)
County Commission District 4
Robert Bender (R) (incumbent)
Myra J. Van Hoose (D)
Stan McDaniels (R)
ECUA District 2
Lois Benson (R) (incumbent)
Anderson "Andy" Romagnano (D)
ECUA District 4
Dale Perkins (R) (Automatically elected)
Non-partisan races
School Board District 1
Kevin Adams (incumbent)
Connor Mann
School Board District 2
Paul Fetsko (incumbent)
Raymond Guillory
Kells Hetherington
School Board District 3
Laura Dortch Edler (incumbent)
David Williams
Santa Rosa Island Authority
Thomas Campanella
Jeremy Johnson
Escambia Soil & Water Conservation District Group 2
Johnnie Odom (Automatically elected)
Escambia Soil & Water Conservation District Group 3
Travis Tharp (Automatically elected)
County Judge Group 1
Paul Hamlin
Scott Ritchie
County Court Judge Group 3
Barry Dickson Jr. (Automatically elected)
Pensacola
Mayor
Jewel Cannada-Wynn
Sherri Myers
Darcy (D.C.) Reeves
Steven Sharp
City Council District 2
Charletha Powell
Brian Hoffman
Charles L. Bare
Brian Wyer
City Council District 4
Jared Moore (Automatically elected)
City Council District 6
Allison Patton
Maureen "Mo" Padden
Ann Hill (incumbent)
Century
Council Seat 5
Sandra McMurray Jackson (Automatically elected)
Santa Rosa County
Partisan Races
County Commissioner District 2
Jeff Ates IV (R)
Rickie Cotton Jr. (R)
Kerry Smith (R)
Clifton Wheeler (Write-in)
Howard Steele (R)
County Commissioner District 4
Ray Eddington (R)
Harlan Hall (Write-in)
Dave Piech (R) (incumbent)
Non-partisan races
County Court Judge, Group 1
Robert Hilliard
School Board District 1
Wayne Patterson
Linda Sanborn (incumbent)
School Board District 3
Carol Boston (incumbent)
Alisabeth Janai Lancaster
School Board District 5
Scott Peden
Pete Peters
Gregory Seltzer
Midway Fire District Seat 2
Justin Labrato (Automatically elected)
Midway Fire District Seat 4
Neal Carter (Automatically elected)
Pace Fire Rescue District, Seat 2
Bob Jankowski (Automatically elected)
Pace Fire Rescue District, Seat 4
Nick Gradia (Automatically elected)
Avalon Beach-Mulat Fire Protection District Seat 3
Rodney Johnson (Automatically elected)
Avalon Beach-Mulat Fire Protection District Seat 5
Bill Sheets (Automatically elected)
Blackwater Soil & Water Conservation District Group 1
John C. Salter (Automatically elected)
Blackwater Soil & Water Conservation District Group 2
Tanner Laney (Automatically elected)
Blackwater Soil & Water Conservation District Group 3
Burlin Findley (Automatically elected)
Blackwater Soil & Water Conservation District Group 4
Lucas Earl Killam (Automatically elected)
Blackwater Soil & Water Conservation District Group 5
Mickey Diamond (Automatically elected)
Jay
Mayor
Shon Owens (Automatically elected)
Councilmember
Nina Hendricks (Automatically elected)
Councilmember
Josh Holloway (Automatically elected)
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Elections 2022: See the candidates for Escambia, Santa Rosa, Pensacola
