Florida has closed primaries, meaning that only voters registered as Democrats or Republicans can vote in many of the statewide races. Local elections are often technically nonpartisan. Scratch the surface, and they are anything but. Pinellas County has just over 600,000 registered voters:
- Democrats: 188,684
- Republicans: 238,411
- No Party Affiliation: 152,175
- Other: 22,618
General Voting Information for the Primaries
Before getting into who is on local ballots, a reminder that you might have to register to receive a mail in ballot. A Florida law went into effect at the end of 2022 which requires voters to re-register to vote by mail. The deadline to register to in the primaries is July 20th. If you are already registered (which you can check here or by calling the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections office at 727-464-8683), the vote by mail ballot request has to be done by 5pm, August 6th for the primary.
Early voting for the primaries starts August 8th and ends August 16th. You can vote in person at any Supervisor of Elections office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekend. Supervisor of Elections offices are located:
- 501 First Ave. N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
- 13001 Starkey Rd., Starkey Lakes Corporate Center, Largo, FL 33773
- Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court St. – Room 117, Clearwater, FL 33756
Ballots have to be received by 7 p.m. on primary election day to be counted. The Tampa Bay Times reported in May that requests for mail in ballots were significantly lower than previous election cycles. At that time, 153,000 requests had come in to the Pinellas Supervisors office, far less than the 280,000 two years previously.
Not sure what your districts are? Maps are available through this link.
Who are we voting for?
Registered Democrats and Republicans will be selecting a candidate for the general election for U.S. Senate (Special Election), U.S. House of Representatives, and Governor.
School Board
Pinellas specific primaries include three school board races (the seats alternate election years). No candidates emerged to challenge Caprice Edmunds in District 7, so she is automatically reelected.
District 2 incumbent Lisa Cane is being challenged by Nancy Velardi, a retired teacher and teachers union president.
District 3 incumbent Dawn Peters has also drawn a teacher challenger, Dawn Douglas, and concerned parent Curtis Campogni. This race, if there is no clear majority winner, could be decided at the November general election. Districts 2 & 3 are at-large seats, meaning everyone in the county can vote. Both incumbents have supported Governor DeSantis’ school policies.
District 6 is an open seat, open to voters in central Pinellas and thebeaches. Former school board member Nancy Bostock and Amanda Lord are vying for the seat.
There will be a School Board Candidates Forum on June 29th, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the SPC Seminole Campus Digitorium, 9200 113th St. N., Seminole, FL 33772.
Pinellas County Commission
Three County Commission seats are up for election this year: Districts 2, 4, and 6. Two of these races, 2 & 6, will skip the primary and be decided in November. However, the August Primary will elect the District 4 Commissioner, and even though it is a partisan primary, it will be open to voters of all registrations. District 4 Commissioner Dave Eggers does have a Republican opponent, Anthony Ringelspaugh. Since both candidates are Republicans, the primary will decide the seat. All voters can participate in that race on August 18th.
Incumbents Brian Scott (2) and Kathleen Peters (6) drew no primary challenges from other Republicans, so will compete in the general race. Scott faces Tim Hughes, locally known for his work with the Sierra Club. Peters is being challenged by David Glenn Jr., a local architect.
County/Circuit Judges
Judgeship terminology uses Group instead of District. Group 3 (Edwin B. Jagger), Group 14 (Robert G. Dittmer), and Group 15 (John Carassas) are unopposed and re-elected. Group 10 is a contest between Nick Fiorentino and Zachariah Wade.
There will be a judicial candidate forum via zoom on Thursday, June 18th, starting at noon, with Nick Fiorentino and Zachariah Wade.
St. Pete Mayoral Race
There are six candidates running to be St. Pete’s mayor:
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- Ken Welch, incumbent mayor
- Charlie Crist, former Florida governor and congressman
- Brandi Gabbard, St. Pete City Council member
- Maria Scruggs, former St. Pete NAACP president
- Kevin Batdorf, former Shore Acres Neighborhood Association president
- James Large, former St. Pete Fire Rescue Chief
The race is officially nonpartisan, so all St. Pete residents can vote in the primary. It is most likely that the top two vote getters will compete in November’s general election. There has already been one mayoral debate. There is another one scheduled for Thursday, June 18th, at the SPC Gibbs campus on 66th St., 6 – 8 p.m. *6/17 update* The debate is sold out, and the LWVSP will be streaming it live at this link. To submit questions ahead of time. Please use this link.
St. Pete City Council
There are four city council seats up for election this year: Districts, 2, 4, 6, & 8. District 4’s Lisset Hanewicz and District 8’s Richie Floyd automatically won re-election when no one filed to oppose them. Currently there are two candidates competing for District 2’s seat. That council person, Brandi Gabbard, is running for mayor. The candidates, Courtney Nicole Bermudez and Gabriel Hament, will compete in November’s general election.
District 6 has drawn five candidates:
- Linsey Nichole Grove
- Terri Lee Balliet
- Jameka Williams
- Trevor Mallory
- Doug Homeyer
Current City Council member Gina Driscoll is term limited in the seat.
Pinellas County Voter Demographics
We used information from the Tampa Bay Times, Florida Politics, the League of Women Voters – St Pete, and the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections sites to create and verify information.
