Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference in Sarasota County on Oct. 17, 2022, with Education Commissioner Manny DIaz Jr. Credit: Screenshot/Gov. Ron DeSantis Facebook
Following his so-so results with school board endorsements during the primary election in August, Gov. Ron DeSantis said these campaigns hadn’t drawn as much of his attention because he had “so much other stuff going on.”
DeSantis endorsed 23 candidates and watched 11 lose, six win, and six have their fate on hold until this week. Tuesday, four runoffs went in favor of DeSantis endorsees, with wins in Brevard, Miami-Dade, Volusia, and Lee counties.
In all, DeSantis watched 13 of his 23 endorsements lose, while 10 won — eleven counting his less-formal endorsement of Laurie Cox in Leon County, who won in August against Democratic-endorsed candidate Jeremy Rogers.
Eight-year member Matt Susin won reelection to the Brevard County School Board, fending off Ava Taylor with a margin of nearly 20%. He previously served as chair of the board, which remains fully conservative, Florida Today reported.
DeSantis-endorsed Donna Brosemer challenged incumbent Carl Persis to win a seat on the Volusia County School Board. Brosemer finished with 58% of the vote to Persis’ 41%.
Vanessa Chaviano, a DeSantis endorsee running for an open seat on the Lee County School Board, beat Sheridan Chester with 69% of the vote to Chester’s 30%, with nearly 300,000 votes cast.
DeSantis’ endorsement was not enough for Stacy Geier to claim an open seat on the Pinellas County School Board; she lost to Katie Blaxberg, a fellow Republican. Geier held a 2% edge on Blaxberg in the August primary, although the general favored Blaxberg by more than 4%.
DeSantis endorsee and Air Force veteran Mark Cioffi lost his bid for the Hernando County School Board. He lost to Michelle Bonczek by nearly 10% in the general, despite earning 44% of votes to Bonczek’s 28.8% in the primary, which prompted the runoff.
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Democratic endorsements both lose
Two of the Democratic Party’s 11 school board endorsements faced runoffs Tuesday. Of the 11 the party backed, seven won in August. Facing runoffs were Max Tuchman in Miami-Dade and Stephanie Arguello in Seminole County.
Tuchman, a tech entrepreneur, lost in a big way to incumbent and DeSantis endorsee Mary Blanco, who earned 67.88% of votes — 86,151 to Tuchman’s 40,773. Blanco was appointed to the board a year ago by DeSantis.
Arguello, a public health PhD student, lost to incumbent and chair of the board Abby Sanchez by nearly 6%. Sanchez earned 52.95% of votes, or 114,630 votes to Arguello’s 101,842.
‘Other stuff’
The “other stuff” DeSantis alluded to included Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational use of marijuana, and Amendment 4, which would have guaranteed a right to an abortion in the Florida Constitution. Both fell just short of the 60% voter approval threshold.
The governor, the First Lady, and other GOP officials paraded around the state campaigning against the two amendments in the weeks between two major hurricanes and Election Day. Some said the outcomes of the amendments could be a major mark on the governor’s record, for better or worse, if he chooses to pursue the White House again.
Nonpartisan school board elections will remain, as voters rejected Amendment 1 Tuesday, which would have printed candidates’ political party affiliations next to their names on the ballot. The races will remain nonpartisan on paper, although partisan endorsements likely will not stop any time soon.
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