Sarasota Republicans had higher turnout than Democrats in swing County Commission district
Florida’s red wave crashed into the Sarasota County Commission District 2 race, likely helping the Republican candidate win.
Republican Mark Smith defeated Democrat Fredd Atkins by 373 votes in the District 2 election.
This is the first year that the District 2 race was held under single-member district voting, which is when commissioners are elected solely by the residents of their district. Previously, commissioners were selected in countywide elections, which favored Republicans.
Previous coverage: Mark Smith wins Sarasota County Commission District 2 race; Joe Neunder takes District 4 seat
Statewide news: How Florida turned red: Changing population, weak opposition, aggressive Gov. Ron DeSantis
Democrats were expected to have a better shot at winning the district this year than previously because District 2 has a higher percentage of registered Democrats than the county as a whole. In fact, there were 1,473 more Democrats registered to vote in District 2 than Republicans as of the October voter registration deadline for the general election this month.
Despite this registration advantage, Democrats trailed Republicans in voter turnout in District 2, as 984 more Republicans than Democrats voted in the general election, according to a Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections office report.
A total of 16,086 Republicans turned out overall, compared to 15,102 Democrats.
It’s important to note, though, that these numbers likely aren’t the same as the numbers of Democrats and Republicans who voted in the District 2 race specifically. That’s because 933 voters cast ballots in the overall election but didn’t vote in the District 2 commission race, according to Paul Donnelly, a spokesman for the Supervisor of Elections office.
Donnelly said his office doesn’t calculate the numbers of Republicans and Democrats who vote in specific races.
The situation in District 2 matches what happened statewide, as Republicans had higher voter turnout than Democrats in Florida. Many Republicans were eager to vote for Gov. Ron DeSantis, which likely benefitted local GOP candidates, including Smith.
Other factors may also have played a role in the Smith-Atkins contest. One is the role of voters without a party affiliation and those with minor party affiliations. The way that these residents voted could have affected the race’s outcome.
The heads of the local Republican and Democratic parties couldn't be reached by press time.
Single-member districts
Some advocates of single-member districts had hoped that Atkins would win the District 2 seat. The single-member district system of electing county commissioners was approved by voters in a 2018 referendum and upheld in another vote last March. Since the system went into effect, its proponents have been hoping to elect controlled-growth candidates to the County Commission.
Kindra Muntz, one of the leaders in the single-member districts movement, said she was disappointed that Atkins came “so close” but was unable to win District 2.
Muntz said candidates like Atkins face the challenge of their opponents receiving “so much money” from the development industry. Atkins’ opponent, Smith, received donations from members of the industry, including Lakewood Ranch.
Tallahassee-based political committees also sent mailers to voters that in some cases praised Smith and in other cases censured Atkins.
Muntz still sees advantages to the single-member districts system.
“It’s the only way to have true competition in these races,” she said.
Anne Snabes covers city and county government for the Herald-Tribune. You can contact her at asnabes@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @a_snabes.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County Commission candidate likely benefited from the red wave
