Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida GOP's hope was dashed Tuesday night after two of their endorsed Hillsborough County School Board candidates lost their Primary Elections.
Two Democrats kept their seats with backing from the Florida Democratic Party after DeSantis endorsed their challengers. Henry "Shake" Washington, the District 5 incumbent, won without a big party endorsement.
The battle over nonpartisan school boards was a last-ditch effort from the Governor's administration to reignite his fizzling parental rights movement.
Here is a rundown of how all the races shook out Tuesdya.
District 1
Nadia Combs will hold onto her job after earning 53% of the vote over DeSantis-endorsed Layla Collins (36%) and openly conservative Julie Magill (10%).
Combs was one of two board members on the Hillsborough School Board DeSantis and the conservative group Moms For Liberty targeted for defeat this year.
A former teacher who owns a tutoring center, Combs outspent by Collins but had her own support from the Florida Democratic Party. The win is reminiscent of her triumph over highly-funded Republican incumbent Steve Cona in 2020.
She supports the property tax and stands by the closing of six under-enrolled schools in the district last year. Combs initiated an early learning task force last year, and wants to expand technical and vocational training.
District 3
Jessica Vaughn, the other Hillsborough School Board member DeSantis and Moms For Liberty have targeted this year, defeated her DeSantis-backed challenger Myosha Powell. Vaughn earned 59% of the vote.
A former teacher and the school board's vice chair, she supports the property tax and voted against the school closings. She wants to expand North Hillsborough's access to Montessori, IB magnets and community schools as well as middle school sports, she told Patch.
District 5
Washington defended his seat from retired county teacher and assistant principal Kenneth Gay, activist and preacher Elvis Piggott and write-in candidate Tamara Shamburger.
Washington took more than 60% of the vote, compared to Gay at 25%, Piggott at 14%, and write-ins totaling less than 2%.
Shamburger, who previously held the seat, lost to Washington in 2020. She challenged his win in court, claiming he wasn't qualified to run, but lost an appeal.
District 7
Incumbent Lynn Gray, a longtime teacher, and openly conservative challenger Karen Bendorf head into a runoff, because no candidate exceeded the 50% threshold needed to win outright. Gray earned 35% of the vote and Bendorf took a little over 30%.
Johnny Bush, a former principal at Robinson and Plant High Schools, and Jen Flebotte, the other conservative candidate, are out of the race with less than 25% and less than 10% of the vote respectively.
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