Florida primary: Andrew Gillum, Ron DeSantis and higher-than-expected voter turnout

Maureen Kenyon | Treasure Coast Newspapers

Besides breaking voter turnout records Tuesday, Floridians also could elect their first black governor in November.

In the biggest upset of the night, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum came from behind to take the Democratic nomination for Florida governor, surpassing Gwen Graham, the primary season front runner and daughter of former governor Bob Graham.

Here are a few major takeaways from Tuesday's Florida primary.

1. Higher-than-expected voter turnout

Florida voters shattered turnout expectations Tuesday, with many counties reporting record-high numbers of voters for a primary.

In Collier County, 33.8 percent of residents cast votes, according to the Supervisor of Elections Office. It was the highest turnout ever for a primary, excluding years when voters cast for a presidential candidate with their party, said Collier elections spokeswoman Trish Robertson.

In Orange County, two hours before polls closed Tuesday, Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles reported a record turnout. More than 170,000 Orange County voters had participated, bringing voter turnout to 22.06 percent and breaking the record for primary election turnout in the county.

In Tampa, more than 1,000 people voted in the first 8 minutes Tuesday, according to the elections supervisor.

Turnout on the Treasure Coast was higher than expected as well.

Vicki Davis, supervisor of elections for Martin County, said she expected a higher turnout because of the Hobe Sound referendum.

She was right. Turnout was about 36 percent.

In Indian River County, voter turnout was 29 percent, about 9 percent more than expected, and it was 26.5 percent in St. Lucie County.

2. Defenthaler defeats Negron

In Martin County, retired educator Victoria Defenthaler beat incumbent Rebecca Negron in a school board race clouded by attack ads funneled into Martin County from outside the region.

"I knew it wouldn’t be an easy race," Defenthaler said Tuesday night. "This proves a grassroots effort of people who really care about students of Martin County can succeed."

Defenthaler beat Negron with more than 56 percent of the vote and 21,512 total votes, according to unofficial results.

More: Retired educator Victoria Defenthaler wins seat on Martin County School Board

3. Upset in governor's race

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a progressive black Democrat, defeated Gwen Graham, daughter of former Florida governor Bob Graham. Graham was the front runner during the primary season.

On Nov. 6, Gillum will face Ron DeSantis, a three-term Republican congressman backed by President Donald Trump who easily defeated longtime agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam.

If Gillum wins, he will be Florida's first black governor.

More: Andrew Gillum takes Democratic nomination for Governor

Gillum’s take in Dade has people standing on tables. pic.twitter.com/BozeB7duKi — Arek Sarkissian (@ArekSarkissian) August 29, 2018

Florida Democratic primary spending:



Philip Levine: $37.7 million

Jeff Greene: $34.7 million

Gwen Graham: $16.3 million

Chris King: $7.8 million

Andrew Gillum: $6.6 million



Candidate only; Gillum had decent outside support. But still ... — Alex Leary (@learyreports) August 29, 2018

4. Hobe Sound votes 'no' to incorporation

A ballot measure that would have made 9.5 square miles of southern Martin County an incorporated town was defeated by more than 1,100 votes.

With an estimated population of 15,400, Hobe Sound would have rivaled Stuart as the most-populous municipality in Martin County, according to U.S. Census data.

It's the second time in less than one year the question of incorporation has been put to a Martin County community; Indiantown voters in November approved incorporation and five-person village council took office in March.

More: Hobe Sound would adopt 'innovative, lean and progressive' governing strategy, expert says

More: Hobe Sound, Florida: 10 interesting things you might not know

5. Sarah Heard re-elected to Martin County Commission

Incumbent Sarah Heard overcame a public-records scandal and won a fifth term representing south Stuart, Port Salerno and northern Hobe Sound as the District 4 commissioner.

Norton came closest to winning, securing 28 percent of the vote to Heard’s 37 percent, according to final, unofficial results from the Martin County Supervisor of Elections. Markey won 22.3 percent and Olsen 11.8 percent, according to the Supervisor of Elections.

More: Martin County voters pass property tax increase pitched by School Board

More: Urban farmer Mike Meier wins Stuart City Commission Group I race

Maureen Kenyon is TCPalm's trends reporter, keeping Treasure Coast residents updated on hot topics and happenings. Do you have a story to tell? Want to start a conversation? Send an email to maureen.kenyon@tcpalm.com, call 772-221-4249 or follow her on Twitter @_MaureenKenyon_.