Some of Polk County’s most prominent officials will receive new terms without the inconvenience of needing to appear on a ballot.
The qualifying period for local and state races ended Friday at noon. Polk County Commissioner Bill Braswell gained a third four-year term in District 3, as no one filed to run against the Republican from Auburndale.
Stacy Butterfield, clerk of courts and comptroller for Polk County, and Joe Tedder, Polk County tax collector, each advanced to new terms without having to face an opponent. Butterfield has served since 2013, and Tedder first took office in 1997. Both are Republicans.
To qualify for county races, candidates must be registered voters in Polk County and must pay fees based on a percentage of the office’s salary. County commission and school board candidates also face residency requirements.
Two Polk County Commission races
Five candidates qualified to be on the ballot for the Polk County Commission District 1 election: Republicans Henry co*ker, Jennifer Price and Becky Troutman and Democrat Kay Klymko. Judi New, a Republican, qualified as a write-in candidate.
New learned in April that she could not appear on the ballot because she had switched her registration from nonpartisan to Republican within one year of the election date. She decided to remain in the race and wage a write-in campaign. While voters are free to write any names onto their ballots, the elections office only counts votes cast for qualified write-in candidates.
Jarvis Washington, a leader of a local Black Lives Matter organization, filed to run as a non-party candidate but did not qualify. Commissioner George Lindsey, a Republican, was barred from seeking another term in District 1 because of term limits.
Three Republicans qualified for the County Commission race in District 3: John E. Hall, Mike Scott and Ricky Shirah. Hall is a former commissioner.
Polk County property appraiser
Neil Combee, who currently holds the District 3 seat, is leaving to run for Polk County property appraiser. Combee, a former state legislator, and Gow Fields, a former Lakeland mayor, qualified in that race. Both are Republicans.
Marsha Faux, Polk County’s longtime property appraiser, is retiring.
Three Polk County School Board races
Elections will be held for three seats on the Polk County School Board. Bernnie Brandt qualified to run against incumbent William Allen in District 1 in the nonpartisan race, while Marilyn Morris, who filed to run in early May, did not qualify.
In District 2, Travis Keyes and Marcus Wright Jr. earned places on the ballot. That seat is open because Lori Cunningham decided not to seek re-election after five terms.
Incumbent Sara Beth Wyatt qualified in District 3, as did her challenger, Rebekah Ricks. Wyatt became possibly the youngest member ever on the School Board when she gained election in 2016 at age 24, and she faced no opponent in 2020.
Supervisor of elections
Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards will face a challenger in her bid for a seventh term. Both Edwards, a no-party candidate, and Melony Bell, a Republican, qualified for the race. Bell, a state representative from Fort Meade, opted to take on Edwards rather than pursue a fourth term in Tallahassee.
Even Grady Judd has a challenger
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd will have an opponent for the first time since 2012, when he captured 96% of the vote against a write-in candidate.
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Theodore “Pink Tie” Murray of Frostproof, a late entrant to the race, qualified to take on Judd, who is seeking a sixth term. Judd is a Republican, and Murray is running as a no-party candidate.
Florida Senate
In legislative races, one Democrat, Phillip Carter of Fort Myers, qualified to oppose Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula.
Albritton, pursuing a third time, is scheduled to serve as Senate president for the 2024-26 term.
Florida House District 48
Democrats fielded one candidate in each of Polk County’s four state House races.
District 48 offers an open seat, as Rep. Sam Killebrew, R-Winter Haven, was ineligible to run again because of term limits. Six Republicans qualified for that election: Jon Albert, Jerry Carter, Chad Davis, Deborah Owens, Amilee Stuckey and Benny Valentin. Another Republican, Kenneth Hartpence, filed to run but did not qualify.
The lone Democrat in the race is John Hill of Poinciana.
Florida House District 49
The open seat for District 49, which Bell is vacating, attracted five candidates.
All four Republicans who filed in the race qualified for the ballot: Jennifer Kincart Jonsson, Heather McArthur, Shawn McDonough and Randy Wilkinson.
Ashley Herrmann, a Democrat from Hillsborough County, also made the ballot.
Florida House Districts 50 and 51
In District 50, Bonnie Patterson-James, a Democrat, qualified to take on first-term incumbent Rep. Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland.
Octavio Hernandez, a Democrat from Davenport, qualified for a chance to challenge three-term incumbent Rep. Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City.
State attorney and public defender
Some local races concluded their qualifying periods in April. Brian Haas, the state attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit, claimed another term without facing a challenger.
Two Republicans qualified in the election for public defender for the 10th Judicial Circuit, Blair Allen and Christopher Desrochers.
The Polk County elections office will also oversee elections in 13 community development districts and one lakes management district. Only residents of the districts vote in those races.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
