Election day for Florida's primary is upon us. With various races for different levels of elected office playing out across the state, the ballots can be daunting.
You may be familiar with your party's candidates for state Senate or House seats, but further down the ballot, where all voters can weigh in on nonpartisan races, the situation may be less clear - despite the considerable power of those positions.
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"The stakes are very, very high," said Miami Herald editorial page editor Nancy Ancrum, speaking of the judicial races on the South Florida Roundup. Meanwhile, in a recent Sundial Now episode, we explored the many ways county commissioners can affect your daily life.
Besides shaping key races for the November midterm elections, residents can also vote on referendums in their communities.
We strongly encourage voters to do their own research, including on these pages and by listening to WLRN’s on-air election coverage. But to help you on this journey, we have compiled endorsements from newspapers, unions and other voices in the South Florida community, below.
You can also find out about prospective judges in the voluntary self-disclosure statements they have provided to the Florida Bar here.
If you are unsure who is on your ballot or how to vote on Aug. 23, read our voting guide first, where you will find locations, times and other information.
Unions
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association
Groups
Key West Committee for Safer Cleaner Ships
Associated Industries of Florida
Americans for Prosperity - Florida
National Right to Life Victory Fund
Newspapers
Miami Herald Editorial Board
Governor: Charlie Crist (Dem)
Attorney General: Dan Uhlfelder (Dem)
Commissioner of Agriculture: Ryan Morales (Dem)
U.S. Representative
District 24: Frederica Wilson (Dem), Lavern Spicer (Rep)
District 27: Annette Taddeo (Dem)
District 28: Robert Asencio (Dem)
State Senator
District 34: Shevrin "Shev" Jones
State Representative
District 106: Jordan W. Leonard (Dem), Fabián Basabe (Rep)
District 107: Christopher Benjamin (Dem)
District 108: Dotie Joseph (Dem)
District 109: Ashley Gantt (Dem)
District 113: Alessandro "A.J." D'Amico (Dem), Vicki Lopez (Rep)
District 118: Juan Fernandez-Barquin (Rep)
District 119: James A. Cueva (Dem), Ashley Alvarez (Rep)
District 120: Daniel "Dan" Horton-Diaz (Dem), James "Jim" V. Mooney Jr (Rep)
Circuit Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit
Group 3: Lody Jean
Group 20: Robert Watson
Group 34: Ariel Rodriguez
Group 52: Jason Edward Bloch
Miami-Dade County Judge
Group 5: Fred Seraphin
Group 19: Jeffrey Kolokoff
Group 42: Alicia Garcia Priovolos
Miami-Dade County Commissioner
District 2: Marleine Bastien
District 6: Jorge Fors
District 8: Danielle Cohen Higgins
District 10: Martha Bueno
District 12: Juan Carlos “JC” Bermudez
Miami-Dade School Board Member
District 2: Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall
District 4: Maribel Balbin
District 6: Maria Teresa “Mari Tere” Rojas
District 8: Marta Perez
Palm Beach Post Editorial Board
Governor: Charlie Crist (Dem)
U.S. Senator: Val Demings (Dem)
U.S. Representative
District 20: Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (Dem)
District 22: Deb Adeimy (Rep)
District 23: Jared Moskowitz (Dem), Jim Pruden (Rep)
State Representative
District 92: Kelly Skidmore (Dem)
District 93: Tom Valeo (Dem)
Circuit Court Judge
Group 23: Alcolyta St. Juste
County Judge
Group 9: Paul Damico
Palm Beach County Commissioner, District 6: Matt Willhite (Dem)
Port of Palm Beach Commissioner, District 5: Deandre Poole (Dem)
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Governor: Charlie Crist (Dem)
Attorney General: Dan Uhlfelder (Dem)
U.S. Representative
District 20: Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (Dem)
District 23: Jared Moskowitz (Dem)
District 25: Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Dem)
State Senator
District 35: Lauren Book (Dem)
State Representative
Broward County
District 97: Saima Farooqui (Dem)
District 98: Patricia Hawkins-Williams (Dem)
District 99: Daryl Campbell (Dem)
District 101: Todd Delmay (Dem)
District 105: Marie Woodson (Dem)
Palm Beach County
District 92: Kelly Skidmore (Dem)
Circuit Judge
Broward County
Group 9: Lauren Melissa Alperstein
Group 14: William W. "Bill" Haury Jr
Group 23: Gary M. Farmer Jr
Group 51: Lorena Veronica Mastrarrigo
Palm Beach County
Group 23: Caryn Siperstein
County Judge
Broward County
Group 15: Chris Marion Brown
Group 26: Kaysia Monica Earley
Palm Beach County
Group 9: Paul Damico
County Commissioner
Broward County
District 6: Beam Furr (Dem)
District 8: Robert McKinzie (Dem)
District 9: Guithele Ruiz-Nicolas (Dem)
Palm Beach County
District 6: Michelle Oyola McGovern
School Board Member
Broward County
District 1: Rodney "Rod" Velez
District 4: Lori Kim Alhadeff
District 5: Ruth Carter-Lynch
District 6: Steven Julian
District 7: Nora Rupert
District 8: Allen Zeman
Palm Beach County
District 3: Karen Brill
District 4: Erica Whitfield
District 6: Marcia Andrews
District 7: Edwin Ferguson
Broward County School Tax Referendum: Yes
For more details on these recommendations, including criteria, go on the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
READ MORE: Sundial Now: Elections bring a change of guard for Miami-Dade County
