An Aug. 23 primary in the Florida Keys saw several candidates handily winning their races and taking their seats. Others successfully secured the Republican or Democratic nomination for their races as they head to the Nov. 8 general election for a chance to represent Florida Keys residents. Here is a roundup of results and reactions from the candidates.
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (District 28, REP)
Carlos Gimenez- 28,753 (73.4%) – Carlos Garin- 6,048 (15.4%) – K.W. Miller- 4,395 (11.2%)
“I’m honored to have the continued support of the people of Miami-Dade County and Monroe County. As your voice in Washington, I’ll always advocate for policies restoring our economy to greatness by tackling inflation and cutting taxes, keeping hard working Americans’ paychecks in their hands and protecting our families. — Carlos Gimenez, Republican candidate for U.S. Congress, District 28
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (District 28, DEM)
Robert Asencio- 18,497 (69.3%) – Juan Paredes- 8,209 (30.7%)
“I’ve spent my career serving the people, in the Army reserves, as a law enforcement officer and as a legislator. Too many politicians in Washington now are only serving themselves. I’ve had enough of it. I’m running for Congress to put people first.” Robert Asencio, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, District 28
STATE REPRESENTATIVE (District 120, REP)
Jim Mooney- 5,034 (45.25%) – Rhonda Rebman Lopez- 4,946 (44.46%) – Robert Allen- 1,144 (10.29%)
“I’m honored to win and thank you to my team. It couldn’t have been done without them. We’re here to continue to move forward and we’re going to the next one. That’s the goal is to win the next election.” — Jim Mooney, Republican candidate for state representative
STATE REPRESENTATIVE (District 120, DEM)
Adam Gentle- 5,390 (55.63%) – Daniel Horton-Diaz- 4,299 (44.37%)
“We are fighting for the future of this state and our nation. (My opponent) Daniel (Horton-Diaz) is a true public servant who has made me a better man. We will move forward lowering housing costs and fighting like hell to ensure that our future is female.” — Adam Gentle, Democratic candidate for state representative, District 120
COUNTY COMMISSION, DISTRICT 5
Holly Raschein- 13,414 (79.07%) – Jose Peixoto- 3,551 (20.93%)
“I’m incredibly proud to have the opportunity to serve our community again. The voters have spoken and now it’s time to get back to fighting for our Keys. Every one of our county commissioners have the best interest of the Keys residents at heart.” — Holly Merrill Raschein, county commissioner, District 5
COUNTY JUDGE
Al Kelley- 10,646 (63.76%) – Jason Smith- 6,052 (36.24%)
“This was truly a family campaign and I can’t thank my family and my supporters enough for all their hard work throughout this county.” — Al Kelley, county judge
SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 1
Darren Horan- 9,630 (57.75%) Gabrielle Brown- 7,044 (42.25%)
“Now my job is to win over the people who didn’t vote for me, and show them that I’m ready to work for everyone in our school district.” — Darren Horan, Monroe County School Board
SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 5
Sue Woltanski- 9,425 (53.85%) Alexandria Suarez- 8,076 (46.15%)
“I’m grateful for the chance to serve the students of Monroe County for another four years, and grateful for the passage of the referendum. Tuesday night was a great night for our kids and our schools.” — Sue Woltanski, Monroe County School Board
CITY OF KEY WEST MAYOR
Teri Johnston- 3,427 (56.24%) – Margaret Romero- 2,666 (43.76%)
“It’s a relief for the entire city of Key West. Being a candidate in politics in 2022 is a challenge and I take my hat off to every single candidate.” — Teri Johnston, Key West mayor
KEY WEST CITY COMMISSION
Kim Highsmith- 617 (45.67%) – Lissette Cuervo Carey- 405 (29.98%) – Steven Nekhaila- 241 (17.84%) – Ryan Barwick- 88 (6.51%)
“I feel great with the showing for my first campaign. It was about five times more hard work, blood, sweat and tears than I anticipated. I want to give a shout out to all my opponents for being such good sports.” — Kim Highsmith, Key West city commission, District 4
“The work begins tonight (for the November runoff).” — Lissette Cuervo Carey, Key West city commission, District 4
U.S. SENATOR (DEM)
Val Demings- 1,261,560 (84.2%) – Brian Rush- 94,008 (6.3%) – William Sanchez- 84,411 (5.6%) – Ricardo De La Fuente- 57,628 (3.8%)
FLORIDA GOVERNOR (DEM)
Charlie Crist- 903,030 (59.7%) – Nikki Fried- 534,521 (35.3%) – Cadence Daniel- 38,120 (2.5%) – Robert Willis- 36,699 (2.4%)
REFERENDUMS
SCHOOL BOARD – RENEW OPERATIONAL FUNDING
YES- 13,454 (74.27%) NO- 4,660 (25.73%)
MARATHON – EXTEND CITY COUNCIL TERM OF OFFICE
NO- 1,181 (68.19%) YES- 551 (31.81%)
MARATHON – PROVIDE MECHANISM FOR EVEN TURNOVER
YES- 1,024 (59.78%) NO- 689 (40.22%)
