No winners, no sweep—just a split vote and a second showdown as Plant City heads for a runoff round.
It looks like Plant City voters aren’t finished casting ballots just yet, after no candidate in two City Commission races secured the majority needed to win outright in Tuesday’s municipal election.
Unofficial results posted Tuesday night by Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer show that the races for City Commission Group 3 and Group 4 will both move to runoff elections.
In the Group 3 race, Karen Kerr led the field with 1,456 votes (47.26%), followed by Tony Smith with 1,310 votes (42.52%). Gregory Boyle received 168 votes (5.45%), and Alicia Kirk Toler received 147 votes (4.77%).
In the Group 4 race, John Haney received 1,407 votes (46.01%), followed by Camryn Henry with 920 votes (30.09%). Maurice D. Wilson Sr. received 539 votes (17.63%), and Randy Toler received 192 votes (6.28%).
Because no candidate topped 50% in either race, the top two finishers in each contest (Kerr and Smith in Group 3 and Haney and Henry in Group 4) will face off in a runoff.
Voter turnout was relatively light, with 3.103 ballots cast out of 21,793 registered voters, about 14.24%. All seven precincts reported results, including Election Day voting, early voting, and vote-by-mail ballots.
There are still a handful of ballots left to be sorted out. Provisional ballots and vote-by-mail ballots with signature issues were not included in the initial count. Voters have until 5:00 p.m. April 9 to fix any signature problems or provide identification for provisional ballots.
The Hillsborough County Canvassing Board will meet at 5:00 p.m. April 9 to certify the first round of unofficial results, with official results expected to follow at 11:00 a.m. April 10. A routine post-election audit is scheduled for April 14.
For now, though, the takeaway is simple: the races aren’t over.
According to Plant City Code Article VII, the runoff election will be held on May 26.
So with no clear winners and a runoff on the horizon, Plant City residents can expect at least a few more campaign signs around town, neighbor-to-neighbor conversations, and a second trip to the polls before winners are decided.
Things to Know
- Voter Registration Deadline: April 27, 2026
- Vote-by-Mail Request Deadline: May 14, 2026
- Runoff Early Voting: May 22 & 23, 2026 (Polls open 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at City Hall)
- Runoff Election Day: May 26, 2026 (Polls open 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. at City Hall)
