Key local, state and federal races are on the primary ballot Tuesday, and not all of them involve partisan nominations.
In Volusia County, like the rest of Central Florida, Elections Supervisor Lisa Lewis says there are consequential nonpartisan races that will be decided in the primary, too.
“There is something for everyone to vote on, no matter what political affiliation you are registered as,” she said.
Here are a few of the races we’ll be keeping an eye on election day.
Decisive school board races
Primary voters, regardless of party, will decide at least 15 of the 21 school board races in Central Florida counties. Those contests, like the race for school board chair in Orange County, are head-to-head match-ups between just two candidates.
In Osceola, Seminole, Lake and Sumter counties, all the school board races will be over when polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. If no one gets more than 50 percent in those races, they'll have a runoff in the General Election.
Orange County mayor
One key race is the nonpartisan contest for Orange County mayor, who oversees thousands of employees and a huge annual budget — and votes as part of the Ccounty Ccommission.
Commissioner Mayra Uribe, former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, county Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell and entrepreneur Chris Messina are all running for that seat.
The top two will advance to the General Election on Nov. 3 — unless someone gets more than half of the vote.
With $1.25 million raised among all four candidates, the mayor’s race is the most expensive contest on the Orange County ballot so far this year. All candidates for all of the rest of the county commission’s seats combined haven’t even raised $1 million.
There’s also the race for the Orange County Clerk of Courts, which is on the ballot because Moore Russell will resign her seat in case she wins the mayor’s race.
The clerk’s race, which is partisan under the Florida constitution, will be a closed primary because not all candidates are running in one party’s primary.
Democrats get to choose in their primary between Rick Singh and Roberta Walton Johnson, who are also the two best-funded candidates in the clerk’s race.
The winner will face off against Terrell Thomas, who is running without party affiliation.
Osceola’s open contests
In St. Cloud and eastern Kissimmee, voters regardless of party will decide which of two Democrats will succeed state Rep. Paula Stark, a Republican, after she failed to qualify for reelection.
“House 47, it is what we call a universal primary,” said Mary Jane Arrington, the Osceola County supervisor of elections. “So everyone that lives in District 47 gets to vote in that race, no matter what your party.”
Also in the city of Kissimmee, residents will vote on amendments to the city charter regarding term limits and background checks.
Challengers for Cory Mills
Republicans in the 7th Congressional District north and east of Orlando will be deciding whether to stick with the embattled U.S. Rep. Cory Mills as their party nominee.
Mills has the endorsement of President Trump, but he’s under investigation by the House Ethics committee for allegations of campaign finance violations and dating violence.
Michael Don Johnson, businesswoman Sarah Ulrich and former news anchor Ryan Elijah are also running for the Republican nomination.
Elijah has earned endorsements from two of Mills’ Republican colleagues in Florida’s congressional delegation: Cape Canaveral U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos and Tampa U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.
The District 7 race was the site of intense infighting during a party debate in New Smyrna Beach earlier this month. Mills’ challengers accused him of stolen valor, questioned his faith and alleged without providing evidence that he was under investigation by the Department of Justice — a claim that the agency eventually rebutted on social media.
And last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that he “does not support Cory Mills” while also declining to endorse any of the other candidates in the race.
