*Editor's note: An earlier version of this story did not include all candidates for Escambia County School Board District 4 and Pensacola Council District 5.
Noon on Friday marked the end of qualifying for local candidates in the upcoming August primary, and by the time of the cutoff, close to 100 candidates had stepped up to seek office and serve the public in some capacity.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons and Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson were re-elected Friday after no one qualified to run against man. Escambia's Clerk of Circuit Court Pam Childers will also return to office without a fight.
No one stepped up to contest the seats held by Santa Rosa County's Tax Collector Stan Colie Nichols or Property Appraiser Greg Brown. Both will remain in office, Nichols as Santa Rosa's longest tenured elected official.
Local voters will, however, decide some big races in the coming months. In Escambia County, four county commission seats are up for grabs, while three school board seats are open.
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In Santa Rosa County, three county commission seats are being contested along with that of the superintendent of schools and two school board positions.
Robert Bender, who is seeking to be elected Supervisor of Elections for the first time following his January appointment to the position, has attracted competition. Bruce Childers, like Bender a Republican, had qualified as of Friday morning to run.
Santa Rosa Supervisor of Elections Tappie Villane has also drawn a fellow Republican opponent this election cycle and county voters will also be asked to decide in August which of three GOP candidates, Jason English, Ginger Pace or Helen R. Spears, is best suited to replace retiring Clerk of Court Don Spencer.
One of the contests to watch in Escambia County will be the race to fill the Commission District 4 seat left vacant following Bender's appointment as the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections.
Three candidates, Ashlee Hofberger, Buck Mitchell and Walker Wilson, are seeking the Republican nomination to the seat. Whoever wins that will face Democratic candidate Ron Helms in November.
One wildcard in the race is that Gov. Ron DeSantis can still make an appointment to fill the seat right up until the general election is held in November.
The other Escambia County commission race to keep an eye on will be the District 1 contest that was expected to be between Jeff Bergosh and Steven Stroberger in the first election to be held under a redrawn District 1 that includes Perdido Key and Innerarity Point, where Stroberger lives.
Stroberger tried running in 2022 for District 2 when his community was redrawn into District 1, forcing him to withdraw from the race. Leaked text messages showed that Bergosh dismissed Stroberger at the time as a political non-factor. Stroberger went on to endorse and manage Mike Kohler's successful campaign for the District 2 seat that year.
It appeared until the last week of qualifying that the two Republicans would be battling for votes in a primary which, with no Democrat or independent in the race, would be open to all registered voters. But the last minute entry of write-in candidates Tyler Aulger and Justin Smith closed the ballot to all but Republican voters, and Jesse Casey, another Republican, also threw his hat into the ring this week, adding further intrigue to the contest.
Initially, the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office reported Lumon May would face a November challenge for his District 3 County Commission seat. As qualifying closed, the Democratic incumbent was reportedly going to be opposed by Republican John R. Johnson. Several hours later, Bender told the News Journal that after a review of Johnson's paperwork, he did not qualify.
District 5 County Commissioner Steven Barry won't win re-election without at least token resistance. Joshua Roberson has qualified as a non-party affiliated candidate and will face off against Barry in November.
Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones will not seek to return to his seat. Gary "Bubba" Peters, a Republican, will step into the seat as he was the only candidate to qualify Friday.
All three of the Santa Rosa County Commissioners seeking re-election this year, Sam Parker in District 1, James Calkins in District 3 and Colten Wright in District 5 have drawn Republican opposition. As has become the norm in the county, write-in candidates have jumped in to all three races and shut out voters registered as Democrats or independents.
More:Santa Rosa District 1 election: Sam Parker retains his county commission seat
Michael Maradik, who drew the ire of Santa Rosa County Democrats when he qualified to run as a write-in candidate for superintendent of schools, has withdrawn from that race, leaving the contest between Republican incumbent Karen Barber and GOP opponents David Godwin and Brenda Stephens open to all voters.
On the Escambia County School Board side, two school board seats have no incumbent, with members Patty Hightower and Bill Slayton choosing not to run for re-election.
Four candidates in the District 4 race have qualified: Carissa Bergosh, Richard Holzknecht, Earle McAuley, and Brian Ranelli. Three candidates have qualified in the District 5 race: Thomas Harrell, Joshua Luther and Andy Taylor.
In the city of Pensacola, two council members were automatically re-elected after drawing no challengers − District 3 Councilman Casey Jones and District 7 Councilman Delarian Wiggins.
District 5 incumbent Teniadé Broughton picked up a challenger on the last day of qualifying and will face Jenori Burroughs. District 1 also will have a race as incumbent Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier is being challenged by Phil Nickinson. The non-partisan city races won't be on ballots until the November general election as there are only two candidates in the races.
Luis Gomez was the sole candidate to qualify to run for mayor of the town of Century, and will remain in that position. Dynette Lewis qualified Friday to run for seat one on the town council and Henry L. Cunningham qualified to run for seat two.
The Santa Rosa County town of Jay was scheduled to hold its municipal election in August, but with two candidates, Mike Hutto and Brent Freeman, having signed on to fill two available seats it did not appear that would be necessary. Hutto was appointed in November of 2023 after Wayne Godwin resigned his seat on the council and Freeman has stepped up to replace Jane Hayes, who chose not to seek re-election this year.
Santa Rosa County's other two municipalities, Milton and Gulf Breeze, will hold their 2024 elections in November.
The last day for voters to register is July 22 and the last day to register for a vote-by-mail ballot is Aug. 8. In-person early voting begins Aug. 10.
Florida 1st Congressional District
Matt Gaetz - Republican
Aaron Dimmock - Republican
Gay Valimont - Democrat
Florida Senate District 1
Don Gaetz - Republican
Lisa Newell - Democrat
Florida House District 1
Michelle Salzman - Republican
Franscine Mathis - Democrat
Florida House District 2
Alex Andrade - Republican
Kim Kline - No Party Affliation
Haley Morrissette - Democrat
Florida House District 3
Joel Rudman - Republican
Keith Gillum - Democrat
Escambia County Sheriff
Chip Simmons - Republican
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections
Robert Bender - Republican
Bruce Childers - Republican
Escambia County Tax Collector
Scott Lunsford - Republican
Escambia County Property Appraiser
Gary "Bubba" Peters - Republican
Escambia County Commission District 1
Tyler Aulger - Write in
Jeff Bergosh - Republican
Jesse Casey - Republican
Justin Smith - Write in
Steven Stroberger - Republican
Escambia County Commission District 3
Lumon May - Democrat
Escambia County Commission District 4
Ron Helms - Democrat
Ashlee Hofberger - Republican
Buck Mitchell - Republican
Walker Wilson - Republican
Escambia County Commission District 5
Steven Barry - Republican
Joshua Roberson - No Party Affiliation
ECUA District 1
Vicki Campbell - Republican
James Faxlanger - Republican
ECUA District 3
Chase "Andy" Romagnano - Democrat
Larry Williams - Democrat
Escambia County School Board District 4 (Non-partisan)
Carissa Bergosh
Rich Holzknecht
Earle McAuley
Brian Ranelli
Escambia County School Board District 5 (Non-Partisan)
Thomas Harrell
Joshua Luther
Jim "Andy" Taylor
Pensacola City Council District 1 (Non-Partisan)
Jennifer Brahier
Phil Nickinson
Pensacola City Council District 3 (Non-Partisan)
Casey Jones
Pensacola City Council District 5
Toni Broughton
Jenori Burroughs
Pensacola City Council District 7
Delarian Wiggins
Century Mayor
Luis Gomez Jr.
Century Town Council Seat 1
Dynette Lewis
Century Town Council Seat 2
Henry L. Cunningham
Escambia Soil and Water Conservation District Group 2
Johnnie Odom
Escambia Soil and Water Conservation District Group 4
Norman Jeffrey DeWeese
Travis Tharp
County Court Judge, Group 4
Kristina Lightel
County Court Judge, Group 5
Kerra Smith
Santa Rosa Island Authority
Thomas Campanella
Jeremy Johnson
Santa Rosa County Clerk of Courts and Comptroller
Jason English - Republican
Ginger Pace - Republican
Helen R. Spears - Republican
Santa Rosa County Sheriff
Robert "Bob" Johnson - Republican
Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Elections
Cindy Hall - Republican
Tappie Villane - Republican
Santa Rosa County Commission District 1
Rollar Ayers - Republican
Bobby Burkett - Republican
Jason Hatfield - Write-in
Sam Parker - Republican
Zachary Reinhart - Write-in
Aaron Williams - Republican
Santa Rosa County Commission District 3
Patrick Eugene Brown - Write-in
James Calkins - Republican
Jerry Couey - Republican
Sandra Maddox - Write-in
Rhett Rowell - Republican
Santa Rosa County Commission District 5
Ronald Martonick Jr. - Write-in
Mike Priest - Republican
Michael Stevens - Write-in
Evan Turner - Write-in
Colten Wright - Republican
Santa Rosa County Tax Collector
Stan Colie Nichols - Republican
Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser
Greg Brown - Republican
Santa Rosa County Sheriff
Robert "Bob" Johnson - Republican
Santa Rosa County Superintendent of Schools
Karen Barber - Republican
David Godwin - Republican
Brenda Stephens - Republican
School Board District 2 (Non-Partisan)
Mariye Calkins
Elizabeth Hewey
Oscar Locklin
School Board District 4 (Non-Partisan)
Charles "Charlie" Elliott
Angie Straughn
Avalon Beach-Mulat Fire Protection District Seat 1
Wesley H. Woodham
Avalon Beach-Mulat Fire Protection District Seat 3
Paul C. Hazucha
Avalon Beach-Mulat Fire Protection District Seat 4
Steven Carter
Holley-Navarre Fire District Seat 1
Charles "Chuck" Cooper
Holley-Navarre Fire District Seat 2
Christopher Tingle
Holley-Navarre Fire District Seat 5
Dennis Reilly
Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District Seat 4
Anthony Pasvantis
Midway Fire District Seat 1
Robert Murphy
Midway Fire District Seat 3
Richard W. Delp
Midway Fire District Seat 5
John T. Poole
Pace Fire Rescue District Seat 1
Jeremy Johnston
Dan Schebler
Pace Fire Rescue District Seat 3
Lynn Garrett
Felix S. Hernandez
Pace Fire Rescue District Seat 5
Daniel Mills
Blackwater Soil and Water Conservation District Group 2
Tanner Laney
Blackwater Soil and Water Conservation District Group 4
Lucas E. Killam
