Voters issue stunning rebuke to DeSantis and developers in Manatee and Sarasota races 

by Michael Barfield, Florida Trident

The most notable losers in Tuesday’s primary elections in Manatee and Sarasota counties weren’t even on the ballot.

Governor Ron DeSantis, GOP political consultant Anthony Pedicini, and a trio of prominent local developers were not candidates themselves, yet voters delivered them a clear rebuke, with six out of seven candidates they supported facing defeat.

DeSantis either appointed or endorsed all six of the losing candidates, who ran in five key races in Manatee County and one in Sarasota County. Pedicini, an attack dog consultant profiled last week in the Florida Trident, served as campaign manager for all six. And local developers Carlos Beruff, Pat Neal, and Randy Benderson and other developer interests collectively invested nearly $1 million in the contests. 

According to unofficial election results, all five candidates backed by developers in Manatee County were defeated by substantial margins. This outcome is particularly surprising given that Pedicini’s candidates outspent their grassroots opponents by a ratio of 5 to 1. Previously, Pedicini’s candidates held a dominant 6-1 majority on the 7-member county commission. With four commission seats up for election, all of Pedicini’s candidates lost, shifting the balance of power to commissioners not directly supported by developers, who now hold a 4-3 majority.

In the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections race, Pedicini-client James Satcher was defeated by Scott Farrington. Satcher had been appointed by Governor DeSantis just a few months earlier following Mike Bennett’s retirement. Farrington won 58.83% of the vote, leaving Satcher with 41.17%.

In Sarasota County, Pedicini faced another loss in the highly contentious District 3 race for county commissioner. Tom Knight emerged victorious over Neil Rainford, who had been appointed by Governor DeSantis last year after the death of Commissioner Nancy Detert. Rainford, with strong backing from developers, secured 39.04% of the vote, while Knight won decisively with 60.96%.

The only DeSantis and Pedicini-backed candidate to win in the two counties was Teresa Mast, who secured victory in the District 2 Sarasota County commission race, defeating Alexandra Coe by a 9-point margin.

Below are the unofficial results of the Manatee County Commission results with the winner in bold:

District 1

• Carol Ann Felts             54.20%
• Steve Metallo                45.80%

District 3

• Tal Siddique                   61.08%
• April Culbreath              38.92%

District 5

• Robert McCann            54.20%
• Raymond Turner           45.80%

District 7

• George Kruse                58.46%
• Kevin Van Ostenbridge 41.54%             

This article first appeared on Florida Trident and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.