Election 2012 Baugh and Golden Win District 5 Primaries and Will Face Off in November

Vanessa Baugh

James Golden

BRADENTON – Vanessa Baugh easily defeated John Colon to win the District 5 Manatee County Commission Republican primary. Baugh, who was the first non-incumbent to announce her campaign, will now face Democrat James Golden in November. Golden was able to pull away from first-time candidate Frank Archino to win by more than 34 points.

In a campaign that got ugly toward the end, with each candidate accusing each other of not having deep ties to Manatee, both Baugh and Colon expressed similar positions on many key issues. Colon had a strong endorsement from retiring District 5 commissioner Donna Hayes, but it was not enough to catch Baugh, who had gathered nearly every other endorsement available en route to her commanding victory.

Republican Primary

                                 Votes    Percent      Funds Raised
Vanessa Baugh    3,666    (57.8%)      $58,971.07   
John Colon            2,669    (42.1%)      $45,520.00

Democratic Primary

                                  Votes    Percent      Funds Raised
Frank Archino         756        (32.7%)     $7,310.00
James Golden      1,555     (67.2%)      $7,195.00   

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