With 97 percent of precincts reporting at the time of publication, Donald Trump is leading Joe Biden in Florida 51 to 48 percent.
The AP called victory for Republican Scott Franklin to Congress in Florida’s 15th District that covers parts of Polk and Hillsborough Counties. He defeated Democrat Alan Cohn and will replace Ross Spano in Congress.
Several members of Congress were reelected in the Tampa Bay area including Republicans Vern Buchanan and Gus Bilirakis, and Democrats Charlie Crist and Kathy Castor.
With 98% of precincts reporting, Florida’s Amendment 2 – which would gradually raise Florida’s minimum wage to $15 / hour — was on track to barely pass the 60% threshold needed to pass at 60.8%.
Hillsborough County
In Hillsborough County, all 390 Election Day precincts have been tallied. All early votes have been counted and vote-by-mail ballots have been partially reported.
Republican Jackie Toledo leads Democrat Julie Jenkins in State House District 60. The margin is 54% to 46%.
Republican Traci Koster appears to have defeated Democrat Jessica Harrington for a State House race with all Election Day precincts reporting. 53% to 47%.
Democrats are leading the three races for Hillsborough County Commission.
Harry Cohen has the slimmest margin, he has a 1.4% point lead over Republican Scott Levinson.
Democrat Pat Kemp leads Republican Sandra Murman by 5 percentage points
And Democrat Gwen Myers leads Maura Cruz Lanz by more than 40 points.
Democrat Nancy Millan leads Republican TK Mathew for Hillsborough Tax Collector by a nearly ten point margin.
In the school board races, Nadia Combs, Jessica Vaughn, Henry “Shake” Washington and Lynn Gray have leads of at least 7 points.
Joe Biden leads Trump in Hillsborough by a 53% to 46% margin.
Pinellas County
All precincts have reported in Pinellas County, but not all mail ballots have been counted.
Caprice Edmund appears to have defeated Karl Nurse for Pinellas County School Board District 7 in South Pinellas.
Two incumbent Democrats are in very close races to keep their countywide seats on the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners.
Charlie Justice leads Republican challenger Tammy Sue Vazquez by less than a percentage point and fewer than 4,000 votes.
Janet Long leads Republican challenger Larry Ahern by about a percentage point an about 6,000 votes.
In a State House Race, Democrat Jennifer Webb appears to have lost her seat to Republican challenger Linda Cheney in South Pinellas by a 52-48 percent margin.
Laura Hine has an 11 point lead over Stephanie Meyer Pinellas County School Board District 1 – at large, countywide.
In the Pinellas County Commission, Democrat Rene Flowers has beaten Maria Scruggs by a 2-to-1 margin in District 7, south Pinellas.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump are in a virtual tie in Pinellas, with Biden on top at the moment by about 1,300 votes.
Florida Constitutional Amendments
The amendments need 60% support to pass; here are the results with about 98% of precincts reporting:
Amendment 1 – Citizenship Requirement to vote in FL elections 79%
As noted above, With 98% of precincts reporting, Florida’s Amendment 2 – which would gradually raise Florida’s minimum wage to $15 / hour — was on track to barely pass the 60% threshold needed to pass at 60.8%.
3 – All voters vote in primary is now below the threshold to pass at 57%
4 – Voters must twice approve constitutional amendments appears ready to fail at 47.3%
5 – Increases portability period for homestead property taxes – 74.5%
6 – tax discount for spouses of some deceased veterans – 89.7%
Listen to the 5:30 p.m. WMNF News headlines for 3 November 2020:
Listen to the 4:30 p.m. WMNF News headlines for 3 November 2020:
Listen to the 3:30 p.m. WMNF News headlines for 3 November 2020:
