Voters in Florida and the Keys kept their governor, their U.S. senator, their South Florida U.S. congressman and their Florida Keys state representative, all of whom are Republicans.
Gov. Ron DeSantis took 60% of the votes to defeat former governor Charlie Crist.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio took 58% to beat Val Demings, while U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez earned 63% of votes to beat Robert Asencio.
Closer to home in the Florida Keys, State Rep. Jim Mooney defeated Adam Gentle with 61% of the votes.
About 2.72 million votes were cast in Florida, with 34,095 ballots coming from the Florida Keys, where Supervisor of Elections Joyce Griffin reported a countywide turnout of 62%.
U.S. HOUSE, District 28 – As of 9 p.m
Carlos Gimenez (R): 63.7% (134,417 Votes)
Robert Asencio (D): 36.3% (76,587 Votes)
FLORIDA HOUSE, District 120
Jim Mooney (R): 60.63% (31,783 Votes)
Adam Gentle (D): 39.37% (20,641 Votes)
U.S. SENATE – As of 9:30 a.m. Wednesday
Marco Rubio (R): 57.69% (4,468,468 Votes)
Val Demings (D): 41.26% (3,195,513 Votes)
FLORIDA GOVERNOR – As of 9:30 a.m. Wednesday
Ron DeSantis/Jeanette Nuñez (R): 59.38% (4,607,597 Votes)
Charlie Crist/Karla Hernandez (D): 39.96% (3,100,603 Votes)
Village of Islamorada council results
Three incumbent councilmen and two female newcomers were elected to serve on the Islamorada Village Council on Election Night. Current councilmen Buddy Pinder, Mark Gregg and Henry Rosenthal, vice mayor, were selected by voters to serve another two-year term. Charter captain Elizabeth Jolin and business owner Sharon Mahoney beat their respected opponents to take seats on the dais for the first time. An amendment to raise council’s pay was turned down by a majority of village voters.
SEAT 1
Buddy Pinder: 54.70%(1,869)
“I worked very hard the whole time. I’m glad the people of Islamorada supported me and they were. I knew it was going to be close with everything that was going on.” — Buddy Pinder
Sue Miller: 45.30% (1,548)
SEAT 2
Mark Gregg: 51.98% (1,749)
“I’m grateful and humbled to be on the winning side. There was a lot of negative campaigning and a lot of dark money spent in this election. This victory shows tonight that if you want a seat on the village council, you have to earn it.” — Mark Gregg
Mary Barley: 48.02% (1,616)
SEAT 3
Elizabeth Jolin: 51.64% (1,685)
“I am really looking forward to serving.” — Elizabeth Jolin
Peter Bacheler: 48.36% (1,578)
SEAT 4
Henry Rosenthal: 34.30% (1,145)
“I got nothing to say but a win is a win.” — Henry Rosenthal
Deb Gillis: 34.12% (1,139)
Angel Borden: 11.53% (385)
John Timura: 10.87% (363)
Casey Watkins: 9.17% (306)
SEAT 5
Sharon Mahoney: 43.75% (1,453)
“So very proud and so very happy I have a chance to make a difference to the town I love and grew up in.” — Sharon Mahoney
Tom Raffanello: 31.26% (1,038)
David Webb: 24.99% (830)
Village Charter amendment to increase council compensation from $1,000 to $2,000
YES – 24.11% (835)
NO – 75.89% (2,628)
Marathon council results
Due to the referendum passed in August’s primary election, as the lowest vote-getter to win a seat on the council, Kenny Matlock will serve a two-year term expiring in conjunction with current councilman Luis Gonzalez’s term.
LYNN LANDRY: 16.30% (1,671 votes)
“Thank you to the city of Marathon for putting your faith and trust in me to be your next council member. Now it’s time to go to work for you, and thank you to everyone who supported and helped me during my campaign.”
ROBYN STILL: 15.62% (1,602 votes)
“I want to thank everyone for allowing me the honor of retaining my seat on Marathon’s City Council and serving you for the next three years. I look forward to working for the betterment of our entire community. Please help me bring the voice of our community to the City Council by reaching out to me with your comments, suggestions and ideas.”
JEFF SMITH: 14.63% (1,500 votes)
“Thank you to the voters for entrusting me to serve our community on City Council. I am humbled by the support and encouraged by the voter turnout demonstrating an engaged community. Congratulations to the winning candidates and thank you to all the candidates for running strong issue-focused campaigns. I look forward to getting to work on the city’s pressing issues with my fellow councilpersons and city staff.”
KENNY MATLOCK: 12.15% (1,246 votes)
“Thank you to all who supported me. It’s truly an honor to be chosen to represent the locals on our city council.”
MIKE LEONARD: 11.03% (1,131 votes)
“The voters have spoken and the election is over. It’s now time to move on and get back to work for the residents of Marathon. I am proud of my campaign and those who supported me and will continue to put my efforts into making Marathon the best place it can be. I will continue my focus on the city’s most important asset: our locals.”
KEVIN MACAULAY: 10.81% (1,108 votes)
“I would like to thank everyone who showed their support for this grassroots campaign. My love for Marathon runs as deep as ever and I promise to continue to fight for the environment, the community, and you!”
RICHARD TAMBORRINO: 7.07% (725 votes)
“Congratulations to the winners.”
WAYNE QUARBERG: 6.40% (656 votes)
“I want to thank everyone that took the time to vote for and support my candidacy for city council. Your faith and trust in me has touched my heart. May God bless each and every one of you.”
INGRID TYREE: 5.99% (614 votes)
“I would like to thank everyone that supported the campaign. 600+ people are now aware that we have some major issues. God bless America.”
KEY COLONY BEACH COMMISSION
BETH RAMSAY-VICKREY: 42.30% (346)
“Thank you KCB! I’m honored and humbled by your support of me as your City Commissioner. I want to say a special thanks to all who helped out with my candidacy, especially my wonderful family, who was with me through this whole journey.”
FREDDIE FOSTER: 31.66% (259)
Now that the votes are in and the voters have spoken, now is the time to build the new. We have the opportunity to face the future with a renewed direction. The commission will have many difficult decisions and projects to address in the coming years, city hall being foremost on the list. I wish to thank everyone who voted for me and assure those who didn’t that I will serve all with honesty and transparency.
JOHN DENEALE: 26.04% (213)
Kew West city commission
One of the tightest races of Election Day was the nonpartisan race for the District 4 seat on the Key West city commission. Lissette Cuervo Carey beat Kim Highsmith by just 18 votes.
The district is a largely residential one in Key West’s New Town area, where many homes suffered significant flooding from Hurricane Ian.
Both candidates received compliments on their clean and smear-free campaigns that stuck to the issues in Key West and District 4.
“We now have all kinds of things to accomplish,” Carey said from her victory party on Election Night, which also happened to be her husband James’ birthday. “Safer streets, cleaner streets and water quality.”
She added that she wants to explore a potential “Riviera Canal project” following the recent floods, and has some safety concerns for residents of the Senior Citizen Plaza apartments on Kennedy Drive.
“I want to make sure our seniors are safe and can safely get to the nearby shopping centers,” Carey said.
She replaces Greg Davila, who did not seek re-election and participated in his final meeting on Nov. 1.
Carey is a lifelong Key West — and District 4 — resident. She formerly worked at city hall as executive administrator to the mayor and city commissioners, and then in the city clerk’s office. Most recently, Carey has worked as executive administrator at the Key West Housing Authority.
Lissette Cuervo Carey: 50.51% 883 Votes
Kim Highsmith: 49.49% 865 Votes
