Manatee County Republican voters have overturned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to nominate Scott Farrington for Supervisor of Elections over governor-appointed James Satcher.
DeSantis nominated Satcher, then a Manatee County commissioner, for the position in April after former elections supervisor Mike Bennett retired midway through his term. Bennett had recommended Farrington, his regular chief of staff, for the position.
Primary Election Results: Manatee Province
Primary Election Results: Sarasota County
Farrington received 23,376 votes from Republican voters in the primary, or about 59 percent of the 16,299 votes cast in Satcher’s favor, with all precincts reporting. Some mail-in ballots have not yet been tallied. All results are unofficial until they are compiled.
Farrington will advance to the general election, but will face only a write-in candidate, Thomas Dell, who has not raised any money to support his candidacy. Write-in candidates often run in single-party seats to close the primary and prevent members of the opposing party from voting.
This article originally appeared in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Farrington wins primary for Supervisor of Elections in Manatee County
