Florida State Senate District 4: State Rep. Clay Yarborough elected by a wide margin

Teresa Stepzinski, Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
Florida State Rep. Clay Yarborough (R) is running for State Senate District 4 in the Nov. 8 general election.
Florida State Rep. Clay Yarborough (R) is running for State Senate District 4 in the Nov. 8 general election.

Veteran legislator Clay Yarborough won the Florida State Senate District 4 election Tuesday, unofficial final results showed.

Yarborough, a Jacksonville Republican — most recently a state representative — defeated Democratic challenger Sharmin Smith, a political newcomer from Jacksonville Beach.

With more than 95% of the vote counted, he received 142,223 votes or 67.8% while Smith got 67,559 votes or 32.2%, according to results.

Yarborough replaces state Sen. Aaron Bean, who is term-limited out.

ELECTION RESULTS: See results from all local and statewide races 

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District 4 encompasses Duval County outside Interstate 295 excluding an area south of Baymeadows Road to the county line. It includes portions of the county west of I-295, south of Interstate 10 and east of Florida 23, also known as Cecil Commerce Parkway. It also includes Nassau County.

Yarborough, 41, served as representative for Florida House District 12 since 2016 before his state house term expired on Tuesday.   He previously served eight years on the Jacksonville City Council including as president during his final year.

Sharmin Smith (D) of Jacksonville Beach is running for District 4 Florida state senate in Nov. 8 general election.
Sharmin Smith (D) of Jacksonville Beach is running for District 4 Florida state senate in Nov. 8 general election.

Yarborough said his top priorities will be supporting parents' rights in education and supporting law enforcement as well as other first responders.

His endorsements include Florida Family Action, Florida Fraternal Order of Police, Florida Police Benevolent Association, Jacksonville Association of Firefighters and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

An author, Smith, 47, campaigned on a platform of protecting privacy — specifically abortion rights and women's health rights. She also advocated for Florida to pass Erin's Law, a measure requiring all public schools in every state to implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program to students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida State Senate District 4: Clay Yarborough defeats Sharmin Smith