Democrats add school board endorsements in final weeks before election

Leon County School Board candidate Jeremy Rogers and Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried speak to reporters outside the Leon County Courthouse before casting early ballots in the 2024 Florida Primary Election on Aug. 12, 2024. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)The Florida Democratic Party expanded its school board endorsement list with just over 30 days until the Nov. 5 election.

In July, the party announced a slate of 11 candidates and incumbents it was putting efforts behind for the primary election. Seven of those candidates won outright, two lost. As the general election nears, the party is throwing support behind the two who advanced to runoffs and six more.

Both candidates facing runoffs – Stephanie Arguello from Seminole County and Max Tuchman from Miami-Dade – are running against incumbents. Arguello faces Abby Sanchez and Tuchman is running against Mary Blanco.

According to the party, to earn the organizing and fundraising power, candidates went through “rigorous application and vetting process.”

The remaining six candidates are Hank Rogers in Duval County, Sheridan Chester in Lee County, Heather Felton in Manatee County, former Florida Rep. Joe Geller in Miami-Dade County, Anne Douglas in Orange County, and incumbent Carl Persis in Volusia County.

“These candidates exemplify Democratic values, and I’m proud to support them in every way we can,” said Florida Democratic Party Nikki Fried in a news release. “We expect to continue gaining ground for Democrats in local races and building the bench for our future.”

‘You gotta swing,’ DeSantis says after nearly half of school board endorsees lose primaries

Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed 24 candidates in the primary and saw 11 lose, seven advance to runoffs, and six win. Two of DeSantis’ wins came against Democrats in Duval and Leon.

“In August, Florida Democrats proved that Floridians are getting tired of Ron’s culture wars,” Fried said. “We know that with the right investments and hard work, Democrats can and will have success in Florida — that’s why we’re expanding our Take Back Local program to be larger and more diverse than ever.”

Although the Democratic Party and the state’s Republican governor have put their support behind certain candidates, party labels are not included with school board candidates’ names on ballots.

Unofficially partisan

Floridians casting ballots this election will decide whether school board races will continue to be nonpartisan or if party labels will be shown on ballots.

Amendment 1 must receive 60% support to add labels to school board ballots starting in 2026.

School board elections have been nonpartisan since 1998, when 64% of voters approved shifting the then-partisan races to nonpartisan.

The party is also throwing resources behind nine county commission races, Ron Saunders in the Monroe County Supervisor of Elections race, and Alexcia Cox in the Palm Beach County State Attorney race.

County commissioner elections are nonpartisan, while state attorney and supervisor of elections races are partisan.

Election day is Nov. 5, although many vote-by-mail ballots have been sent and the deadline to register to vote in Florida is Monday. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 24.

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