ORLANDO, Fla. – 2023 is an off-year for politics in Florida, but we still have elections, and thousands of people went to the polls Tuesday.
About a dozen cities and towns in Brevard, Lake, Orange and Seminole counties all had elections, including the city of Orlando mayoral race.
In addition, some voters in Orange and Osceola counties chose candidates in party primaries for Florida House District 35.
Here’s what you need to know.
Election Results
Find results for towns and cities across Central Florida by clicking on the links below. City elections for Brevard and Lake counties are listed under those counties.
BREVARD COUNTY | LAKE COUNTY | ORLANDO MAYOR | ORLANDO COMMISSIONER | OVIEDO | LAKE MARY | FLORIDA HOUSE DISTRICT 35 PRIMARIES
Elections by county
ORANGE COUNTY
ORLANDO
First up is probably the biggest one — voters will decide on Orlando’s mayor and two city council seats.
Buddy Dyer is running for a sixth term in the mayor’s office. He faces three opponents: Steve Dixon, Sam Ings and Tony Vargas.
Since there are four candidates in the race, one candidate needs to get 50% plus 1 of the vote in order to win the race outright. If no candidate achieves that, the top two vote-getters will go to a run-off election on Dec. 5.
Learn more about the candidates HERE.
For seat 4 Orlando city commissioner, incumbent Patty Sheehan faces two opponents: Randy Ross and Katie Koch.
Since there are three candidates in the race, one candidate needs to get 50% plus 1 of the vote in order to win the race outright. If no candidate achieves that, the top two vote-getters will go to a run-off election on Dec. 5.
For seat 6 Orlando city commissioner, incumbent Bakari Burns faces one challenger: Rufus Hawkins.
Seat 2 Commissioner Tony Ortiz was reelected without opposition.
Learn more about the candidates HERE.
BREVARD COUNTY
There are elections happening in Cape Canaveral, Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne Beach and Rockledge.
Cape Canaveral residents are voting to fill two seats on the city council, and there are three candidates to choose from: Kay Lyn Jackson, Steven Stroud, and incumbent Don Willis.
Indian Harbour Beach residents are also looking to fill two seats on the city council. For seat 1 there are three candidates: Adam Dyer, David Nutt and Douglas Torpy. For seat 3 there are two candidates: Hamilton Boone and Susan Ruimy.
Residents in the Town of Melbourne Beach are electing a mayor and a commissioner. The candidates for mayor are Joyce Barton and Alison Dennington, and the candidates for commissioner are Jason Judge and Adam Meyer.
In Rockledge, voters will pick a commissioner for seat 3 from candidates incumbent Sammie Brown Martin and challenger Josiah Gattle. Rockledge Mayor Thomas Price and Deputy Mayor Frank Forester both drew no challengers and were therefore reelected without opposition.
Elections in Indialantic, Malabar, Melbourne Village and Palm Shores were also decided without opposition.
Learn more about all the candidates and races in Brevard County HERE.
LAKE COUNTY
Five cities in Lake County are holding elections on Nov. 7.
Clermont is looking to fill seat 4 on its city council, with candidates Max Krzyminski and Chandra Myers running for office. There is also an ordinance on the ballot that would change the terms in office for city council members.
The Town of Lady Lake is holding an election for Ward 5 on the commission. Incumbent Jim Rietz and Mike Sage are running for the seat.
Voters in Mascotte will choose a candidate for seat 5 on the city council. Incumbent Randy Brasher is running against Sharee Hodge.
Three Minneola city council seats are up for election. In seat 1, incumbent Pam Serviss is going up against Monica Luna. In seat 3, incumbent Pat Kelley is facing Nathan Focht. In seat 5, incumbent Joseph Saunders faces challengers Juana Delacruz and Kelly Price.
There are also two ballot questions for Minneola voters, both of which change the terms in office for city council members.
In Tavares, incumbent councilmember Sandy Gamble is running for reelection to seat 2 on the city council against challenger Doug Keown.
Learn more about all the candidates and races in Lake County HERE.
SEMINOLE COUNTY
The cities of Oviedo and Lake Mary are having elections on Nov. 7.
In Oviedo, incumbent mayor Megan Sladek faces two challengers: Brady Duke and Judith Dolores Smith. There are also two proposed ordinances on the ballot, one authorizing a business tax exemption program, and one to further fund a new public safety building.
Learn about the candidates and the proposed ordinances HERE.
In Lake Mary, incumbent city commissioner George Duryea is facing a challenge from Kristina Renteria for Commission Seat 2.
Learn about the candidates HERE.
FLORIDA HOUSE DISTRICT 35
Fred Hawkins, the state representative for District 35, left his seat earlier this year to become president of a state college in South Florida. That means there’s a special election for his district coming up.
The district encompasses eastern Orange and Osceola counties, and voters in that district will pick Democratic and Republican candidates on Nov. 7. The winners of those party primaries will go onto a general election on Jan. 16.
Florida is a closed primary state. That means only Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary and only Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.
The candidates running in the Democratic primary are: Rishi Bagga, Marucci Guzman and Tom Keen.
The candidates running in the Republican primary are: Erika Booth, Ken Davenport and Scotty Moore.
Learn about all the candidates HERE.
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