Just 25.6% of registered voters cast ballots, but Moody and Jolly cruised to wins while county commission and school board contests came down to a few points.
Barely a quarter of registered voters in Hillsborough County bothered to cast a ballot Tuesday, but for the ones who did, the primary delivered a mix of landslides and nail-biters that will shape the fall ballot in several high-profile races.
Unofficial results posted Tuesday night showed just 206,324 of the county’s 807,259 registered voters (about 25.6%) turned out for the primary, according to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections office.
One of the marquee contests, the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, was never close. Ashley Moody dominated the four-way field, pulling in nearly 82% of the county’s vote and leaving her nearest competitor, Chris Gleason, with less than 11%. On the Democratic side, state Rep. Angie Nixon held off a challenge from Alex Vindman, winning about 58% of the vote to his 42%.
The governor’s race told a different story. Republican Byron Donalds edged out a crowded field with roughly 44% of the county’s vote, but Jay Collins wasn’t far behind at 30%, and investor James Fishback pulled nearly 12% in his first bid for office. Six Democrats competed for their party’s nomination, but former congressman David Jolly ran away with it, winning 62% of the vote, nearly four times the total of his closest rival, Dayna Marie Foster.
Down the ballot, a handful of local races were decided by just a few percentage points.
In County Commission District 5, Republican Stacy Hahn beat Donna Cameron Cepeda by fewer than 10 points, 54.9% to 45.1%, a margin close enough that both campaigns will be watching the county’s next steps closely.
Other local races weren’t as close. Republican Mike Beltran won the primary for the District 14 congressional seat with 46% support in an eight-candidate field, while Democrat Kimberly Overman beat Darren McAuley for the District 12 nomination, 55% to 45%. In two circuit judge races, Sara Peacock and Nina McGucken Alvarez each won comfortably, taking close to 60% of the vote against their opponents.
Statewide down-ballot races also broke largely along expected lines in the county: Republicans Blaise Ingoglia and Wilton Simpson won their primaries for chief financial officer and commissioner of agriculture, respectively, while Democrats Annette Taddeo and Joey Mendoza Atkins won the same offices’ Democratic nominations.
None of Tuesday’s results are final. Under Florida law, voters have until 5 p.m. Thursday to fix a rejected vote-by-mail signature or prove eligibility for a provisional ballot, meaning close races could still tighten. The county’s first unofficial results are set to be certified Friday morning, with the Canvassing Board scheduled to certify official results and conduct a post-election audit on Aug. 25.
