In the Florida Keys, most of the candidates competing in Tuesday’s primaries were outright winners of their respective races.
That’s because the two Key West City Commission Districts up for grabs are nonpartisan, as is the race for the one Monroe County School Board seat at stake. The Board of County Commissioners is a nonpartisan race, but the three candidates running this year for the only district on the ballot — District 5, which represents the Upper Keys — were all Republicans. No Democrats filed.
The only race that was a true primary was for Monroe County Supervisor of Elections. Republican Sherri Hodies, president of the Southernmost Republican Club, defeated Margaret Romero, a former Key West city commissioner, with 60 percent of the vote, preliminary results show.
The winner in November will replace longtime elections supervisor Joyce Griffin, who is retiring after nearly 40 years in the elections department.
County Commission District 5
Incumbent Holly Merrill Raschien won with 55 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results. She is director of government relations for AshBritt Environmental. She faced environmental consultant Melissa Ptomey and Paul Wunderlich, a county road and bridge inspector.
School Board District 2
Yvette Mira-Talbott, a Key West entrepreneur, won the Monroe County School Board District 2 seat with 58 percent of the vote, results show. She faced off against Zach Bentley, a Key West entrepreneur, who was competing to replace longtime School Board Member Andy Griffiths, who did not seek re-election.
Key West City Commission District 1
Monica Haskell, a small business owner, defeated Ben Hennington, a Key West hospitality marketer, with 77 percent of the vote.
Key West City Commission District 6
According to the preliminary count, Aaron Castillo, a funeral director, received the most votes in the race for Key West City Commission District 6.
Early results showed Castillo with 50 percent of the vote. Also on the ticket were Thaddeus Cohen, an architect and former secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs, now called Florida Commerce, and Marci Rose, an attorney.
