Tuesday's primary election races range from Polk School Board to US Senate

Gary White, The Ledger
·5 min read

Voters have the chance Tuesday to cast ballots in elections ranging from the Polk County School Board to the U.S. Senate.

Traditional voting takes place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 134 sites throughout Polk County. Residents should check their voter identification cards to find their polling location or go to the Polk Supervisor of Elections website and search by address and precinct number.

As of Thursday, more than 47,000 Polk County citizens had cast ballots by mail or during early voting, which began Aug. 13, the Supervisor of Elections office reported.

Florida is a closed-primary state, meaning only voters registered as either Democrats or Republicans may vote in the parties’ primary elections. But all voters are eligible to vote in partisan primaries if no candidates from the other party are on the ballot.

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Florida House District 50 and 51

That is the case for two legislative races on Tuesday’s ballot. In Florida House District 50, the only candidates are two Republicans, Jennifer Canady and Phillip Walker, both of Lakeland. They are running for an open seat as state Rep. Colleen Burton runs for the state Senate.

In Florida House District 51, incumbent Josie Tomkow of Polk City faces a challenge from Bill Olson of Davenport in the Republican primary. The election is open to all voters because no Democrat qualified to run in that district.

State representatives Melony Bell and Sam Killebrew, both Republicans, won re-election without opposition.

The only Democrat who qualified for a Polk County legislative race, Veysel Dokur of Lakeland, faces Burton in the November election for Florida Senate District 12.

Polk County school board races

POLK SCHOOL BOARD CAMPAIGNS:

All voters will be able to participate in four nonpartisan elections for the Polk County School Board. Though the races are identified by district numbers, voting takes place on a countywide basis.

In District 3, incumbent Sarah Fortney is vying against challenger Rick Nolte. Kay Fields, the incumbent in District 5, takes on Terry Clark in District 5.

The only open seat is District 6, as Justin Sharpless and Sara Jones compete to succeed Lynn Wilson, who opted not to seek re-election.

Incumbent Lisa Miller faces two opponents in District 7, Dell Quary and Jill Sessions. If no candidate gains a majority of votes, the top two will meet in a runoff election in November.

County Judge Group 8

The nonpartisan election for County Judge Group 8 is also open to all voters. The candidates are John Flynn, Ruth Moracen Knight, Carmalita Lall, Adam Patton and Tara Wheat. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, the two leaders will face off in November.

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Florida statewide primary races

Voters registered as Democrats or Republicans will find a range of state and federal primary elections on their ballots.

Democrats will vote in primary races for governor, with four candidates on the ballot: Charlie Crist, Nikki Fried, Cadance Daniel and Robert Willis. The primary election for Florida attorney general has three candidates: Aramis Ayala, Jim Lewis and Daniel Uhlfelder.

For agriculture commissioner, voters will choose among Naomi Esther Blemur, J.R. Gaillot and Ryan Morales.

Congressional races

Democrats living in U.S. House District 15 will also choose a candidate for the November general election. The candidates are Gavin Brown, Alan Cohn, Eddie Geller, Cesar Ramirez and William Van Horn.

The redrawn district covers western Polk County, along with parts of Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

POLK COUNTY'S CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS:

The final Democratic primary is for the U.S. Senate. The candidates are Ricardo De La Fuente, Val Demings, Brian Rush and William Sanchez.

Republicans will choose between two candidates for Florida agriculture commissioner, James Shaw and Wilton Simpson.

Republican primary elections will be held for all four of the U.S. House districts in Polk County. In District 9, the candidates are Jose Castillo, Scott Moore, Adianis Morales and Sergio Ortiz.

In District 11, incumbent Rep. Daniel Webster faces two challengers, Laura Loomer and Gavriel Soriano. District 15, an open seat, has five candidates: Demetries Grimes, Laurel Lee, Kevin “Mac” McGovern, Kelli Stargel and Jackie Toledo.

In District 18, incumbent Rep. Scott Frankin faces Kenneth “Kenny” Hartpence, Jennifer Raybon, Wendy Schmeling and Eduardo “Eddie” Tarazona.

Primary elections historically have much lower participation rates than general elections, and turnout is lighter in years without a presidential election. Participation in Polk County has averaged 22% in the past three primary elections held in presidential midterm periods, according to the Supervisor of Elections office.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida primary 2022: Races range from Polk School Board to US Senate