In the race for governor, Andrew Gillum secured the Democratic nomination and will face Ron DeSantis, President Donald Trump’s pick, in the general election. Gov. Rick Scott secured the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and will challenge incumbent Bill Nelson in November.
Before election day, about 22,000 Alachua County residents had voted early or by mail for the primary election.
Jason Davis, 45, and Lorenza Certain, 66, were at Cypress and Grove Brewing Company to support School Board candidate Tina Certain. The pair, who spent the day campaigning for Certain, were hoping to see their hard work pay off.
“I want the results to be a slammer,” Davis said. “Don’t even come close to it.”
I spoke with School Board District 1 candidate Tina Certain before the final results come in. She said she’s proud of her campaign and has no regrets. @TheAlligator pic.twitter.com/rsEoinakVb
— Amanda Rosa (@AmandaNicRosa) August 28, 2018
While she waited for the votes to pour in, Certain reflected on her campaign with confidence.
“I don’t have any regrets,” she said. “We just tried to run our campaign in a good method, spread our message in a positive manner and just do everything we could do to win the race, and I feel like I’ve done that, whatever the outcome is.”
Over at the Palomino Pool Hall, Olysha Magruder, democratic candidate for district 8 state senator, hopefully awaited results.
“The surge of turnout today was really hopeful for me because I feel like our strategy was to reach out to voters who don’t normally come out and vote in these kinds of elections,” she said. “I think that might be the ticket to our success here tonight.”
Her father Greg Magruder, stood by his daughter’s side while results rolled in.
“I am very proud of my daughter, and I think she’s worked real hard and deserves to win,” he said. “If she doesn’t, I will be disappointed because I know she did a fair and fabulous campaign.”
Voters trickled in and out of Santa Fe College’s Center for Innovation and Economic Development. One voter, Derek Helmick, a 30-year-old Gainesville resident, has been interested in politics since his time at UF more than 10 years ago, he said.
He said his first volunteering experience was for Randy Wells, who was running for city commission at the time. On Tuesday, almost 10 years later, Helmick voted for Wells again in his campaign for County Commission District 2.
“Randy got me started in politics,” Helmick said.
Since that campaign, Helmick has worked for different congressional and senate races. He said primary elections are important in the long-run.
“If you’re pissed about the quality of candidates, you’ve got to vote in these early elections,” Helmick said.
For friends Erin Wilhjelm and Alexandra DeLuca, this election is their first time voting.
Inside the polling station, Wilhjelm said screens tallied the number of votes. The UF computer science junior said it was empowering to see her vote added and become number 59.
“We know there needs to be a change,” Wilhjelm, 19, said. “You can see the change you’re making.”
Down Second Avenue, Thelma A. Boltin Center also opened its doors to voters. Cars filled the parking lot, and some left their cars running while they went inside to vote.
Julie Kauffman, 60, said she almost always votes. On Tuesday, she focused on the candidates for the governor race.
“I saw them debate, and I thought they all acted like 12-year-olds,” Kauffman, a 2nd-grade teacher at Melrose Elementary, said. “I was looking for common, down-to-earth sense.”
Kauffman said she decided to vote for republican candidate Adam Putnam.
