Democratic incumbent Kim Barton retained her seat as Alachua County Supervisor of Elections in a landslide victory against Republican challenger Judith Jensen Tuesday evening. She won by more than 32,000 votes.
Kim Barton, a Tennessee native, graduated from UF in 1985. Before taking office as Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, she worked for the Florida Department of Health and the One Church, One Child adoption program.
Barton is a Master Florida Certified Elections Professional and has served in the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections office since 1993, first as its outreach coordinator and then as outreach director. She won the supervisor position in 2016 and retained the seat in an unopposed 2020 race.
She said she’d prioritize expanding voting access and election transparency upon re-election.
Gainesville resident Fiora Mercado, 19, said she voted down the ballot for the Democratic Party. While she didn’t know much about the supervisor of elections race, she said she confidently voted for Barton simply for her party affiliation.
More than 80,000 voters cast their ballot for Barton.
Republican challenger Judith Jensen is a registered nurse and the secretary of the Alachua County Republican Party. Jensen, who has lived in High Springs for 11 years, has volunteered as a poll watcher and poll worker for the county. Her agenda focused on addressing concerns about election integrity.
Jensen outlined the core pillars of her platform as trust, transparency and ensuring smooth elections. If she were elected, she said she planned to minimize the influence of the Florida Supervisor of Elections organization at the county level and collaborate with citizen research groups to identify and resolve issues with the electoral process, according to her campaign website.
More than 50,000 voters cast their ballot for Jensen.
The previous supervisor of elections was also a Democrat.
Barton received more than $35,000 in donor contributions to fund her campaign, while Jensen received more than $20,000.
Jensen said she was disappointed but not surprised by the race’s outcome.
“I never expected it would be a super victory,” she said. “I’m very grateful to all the people who supported me, and I think the turnout shows that people believe there may be a need for some changes and that election integrity is very important.”
While she did not indicate she would mount a future campaign, Jensen plans to remain in public service. She said she hopes to work closely with the supervisor of elections office.
Contact Natalie Kaufman at nkaufman@alligator.org. Follow her on X @Nat_Kauf.
Natalie Kaufman is a sophomore journalism student and the Alligator's Fall 2024 Metro General Assignment reporter. In her free time, she likes drinking copious amounts of caffeine and running.
