Fields were supposed to be set on Tuesday in two Special Elections for legislative seats. But hours after a noon qualification deadline, the state had not updated the status for candidates in Senate District 19 or House District 3.
Late on Tuesday, an employee at the Florida Division of Elections said the state intends to update its website regarding both Special Elections and a third, in House District 32, after noon on Wednesday.
Multiple Republican consultants said there was no rational explanation why it would take more than 24 hours to qualify candidates in two elections statewide. But multiple Republican sources believed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office had ordered the State Department to slow the qualification process for the 17 candidates in the two seats with Tuesday deadlines for candidates. HD 32’s deadline is not until noon on Wednesday.
The Governor’s office did not return a request for comment. A spokesperson for the State Department said only that the paperwork for all candidates was being processed and to continue monitoring the Division of Elections website.
House District 3, vacated by former state Rep. Joel Rudman last year, sits independent in the Florida Panhandle. None of the 11 candidates currently filed for the Special Election there hold another elected office, though certainly many would like to know with certainty that they qualified for the June 10 Special Election.
Considering HD 32 falls entirely within the boundaries of SD 19, that’s a consequential development for any candidate who is considering running in one of those seats but wanted to see the SD 19 field settled before making a final decision. The Senate seat opened up when state Sen. Randy Fine resigned to run for Congress.
But the other two races on the Space Coast presented candidates with options. Many expected former Melbourne City Council Tim Thomas, for example, to run in HD 32, which is open because state Rep. Debbie Mayfield resigned to run in SD 19. But Thomas filed on Tuesday morning for the Senate seat amid rumors Mayfield’s Senate candidacy would be disqualified over term limits.
Most believe that to be unlikely. Mayfield, a former state Senator, did not seek re-election in SD 19 last year, because of term limits, but most say since she has been out of office for months, limits on continuous service no longer apply. Even lawmakers prevented from serving in the Legislature for a period of time over election disputes, for example former state Rep. Jamie Grant, had the clock reset on term limits once legal challenges were settled.
Perhaps more important, it’s unlikely the State Department would unilaterally disqualify Mayfield based on an interpretation of term limits law, instead leaving that to be resolved by courts if someone legally challenges her place on the ballot.
Thomas, for his part, generally praised Mayfield.
“I am all for her running again,” he said. “She is a tremendous politician, very good and very successful. If she has the legal opinions that agree she can serve, all power to her. I hope she is successful. That’s not my decision.”
He said he likely will not run in HD 32 if Mayfield qualifies. But by failing to qualify candidates in a timely fashion, that denies any candidate the chance to change their mind and file for the House seat, an opportunity which would theoretically be open even to Mayfield.
In total, five Republicans — Mayfield, Thomas, Marcie Adkins, Gabriel Goddard and Mark Lightner — filed in SD 19 and appear to have submitted all required checks and paperwork, as has Democrat Vance Ahrens.
In HD 32, four candidates were filed as of Tuesday: Republicans Terry Cronin, Brian Hodgers and Bob White and Democrat Juan Hinojosa.
In HD 3, 11 candidates all filed before the noon deadline on Tuesday. Those included 10 Republicans: Nathan Boyles, Sean Hollonbeck, Hayden Hudson, Rena McQuaig, Wade Merritt, Shon Owens, Joshua Sik, Cindy Smith, Jamie Tabisz-Smith and Jamie Wells. Democrat Dondre Wise also filed.
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