ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s August primary this year may not have the national resonance of a presidential primary, or the big names that come from statewide races like governor or U.S. senator.

What You Need To Know

However, the importance of the races on the ballot on August 18 cannot be denied. From county commission and school board races to sheriff, state attorney and judicial races, these candidates could have the chance to make decisions that affect your day-to-day life, including budgets, infrastructure, law enforcement, justice and more. Many could hold the purse strings to your tax dollars.

Then there are the state legislature and U.S. House primaries. In some cases these are universal primaries, which means you don’t have to be a member of a political party to vote in them. More on that in a moment.

First, let’s talk about the races in Central Florida that we are watching closely.

Sheriffs in 3 Counties

The sheriff is up for re-election in three counties: Orange, Osceola and Sumter counties.  These are party primaries, but in all cases the winner will likely be decided on August 18.

In Orange County there are four challengers fighting to unseat Sheriff John Mina. Mina faces former public defender Andrew Darling, former Florida Highway Patrol Chief Joe Lopez, former Eatonville Police Chief Eric McIntyre, and businessman Darryl Sheppard.

All of the candidates are running in a Democratic primary, and the winner will face two write-in candidates in November, Tim Lucas Adams and Winston Johnson.  That means there’s a good chance Democratic voters will have overwhelming control over who the next sheriff in Orange County is.

This is the same in Osceola County, where incumbent Russ Gibson faces Democratic challengers Osceola Deputy Marco Lopez and retired sheriff’s office Captain Mike Fisher. The winner in August will go on to face Luis “Tony” Fernandez, who has no party affiliation, in November.

The Sumter County sheriff race will definitely be decided in August, but that’s because it’s a universal primary. That means the only candidates running for the office are from the same party, so the primary is open to all voters. The candidates are incumbent Sheriff William Farmer Jr. and businessman Eric Anderson.

Orange-Osceola State Attorney

 In 2016, the race for the top prosecutor handling cases in the Ninth Circuit, which includes Orange and Osceola counties, was decided in the Democratic primary. The winner, Aramis Ayala, has been a controversial pick, to say the least with her views on the death penalty, but she’s also shaped a number of important justice policies, including in bail reform and juvenile justice.

Democrats could again have overwhelming control over who gets this important position. Ayala is retiring, and a “No Party Affiliation” candidate, Jose Torroella, is the only non-Democrat running in the election in November.

The candidates are retired Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Orange-Osceola prosecutors Deborah Barra and Eric Williams, and Monique Worrell, who was a director of the Ninth Circuit’s conviction integrity unit.

Florida House District 42 Republican primary

The Florida House District 42 race made our list, not because it’s important or heated, but because it’s a bit of a mess.

Osceola County Commissioner Fred Hawkins Jr. was the big favorite in this Republican primary, which includes part of Osceola and Polk counties, which included a subdivision in Osceola County called Turnberry Reserve.

Hawkins was arrested last month by Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement for impersonating a law enforcement officer to try and get into the Turnberry HOA election in November, which was closed to all but residents.

Gov. DeSantis removed Hawkins from the commission, but Hawkins, who says the charges against him were part of a political witch hunt, says he will continue to campaign for the Republican nomination.

Residents have long complained about a lack of transparency with Turnberry Reserve’s HOA. At a Legislative Delegation meeting last year, dozens of Osceola County residents pushed their state representatives to make HOA reform a priority.

It’s interesting to note that the Orlando Sentinel rescinded its endorsement of Hawkins after he was arrested, and declined to endorse another candidate. The editorial board said nearly every other candidate named HOA reform as a major issue.

The other Republican candidates in the primary are nurse Dianna Liebnitzky, Army veteran Gary Scott, and pastor Dr. Benny Valentin.

Orange County Property Appraiser

The Orange County property appraiser race will likely be determined by Democrats in August. Two candidates are challenging two-term incumbent Rick Singh for the job, and the winner will face two write-in candidates, S. Scott Boyd and Tim Louck, in November.

What makes this race interesting to watch is whether the weight of controversies surrounding Singh will catch up to him.  He’s been harangued for plastering his name on office vehicles, investigated for official misconduct (the investigation found he could have been charged, but a state attorney said there wasn’t enough evidence), and a litany of other accusations by former employees.

Singh faces former Florida Rep. Amy Mercado, and real estate broker Khalid Muneer.

Volusia County Council Chair

Orange County has a mayor, Volusia County has a council chair. The chair person may not run the day-to-day operations of the county (that’s the county manager), but they are considered the ceremonial, if not official, head of the county. They preside over council meetings, issue proclamations, execute resolutions and represent the county in regional affairs.

County Chairman Ed Kelley is stepping down. Running to replace him is current county Councilwoman Deb Denys, DeLeon Springs farmer and businessman Jeff Brower, and retired computer engineer Gerard Witman. The candidates have different ideas when it comes to growth and infrastructure in the county, and the winner would have influence in changing county policies.

Because it’s a non-partisan race, a winner has to get 50 percent + 1 vote to win outright in August. If no clear winner emerges, the top two vote-getters would move on to a run-off in November.  

Honorable mentions:

The top 5 races was a hard list to nail down. We have a few races here that were on our short list.

Seminole County Tax Collector Republican Primary: With incumbent Joel Greenberg facing federal charges, real estate broker J.R. Kroll and educator Brian Beute are facing off. The winner faces media personality Lynn Moira Dictor in November.

Osceola County Clerk of Courts: Incumbent Armando Ramirez is another politician who has faced a litany of accusations, including nepotism, encouraging staff to violate public records laws, and other misconduct claims.

He faces Osceola school board member Kelvin Soto, State Rep. John Cortes, and Osceola Sheriff’s Deputy Jossue Lorenzo. Since only Democrats have run for this office, this August election is open to all voters, and the winner will win the seat outright.

Universal Primaries

One more thing: Florida is a closed primary state, which means in a partisan election only party members can vote in primaries.

However, this all changes if there are only candidates from that party. Then the election becomes a universal primary, which means all voters can vote in that race.

Central Florida has 10 universal primaries spread out across state and local elections in our nine counties, including in two State House races, a public defender race, and several county commission seats, along with other races mentioned above.

To see all of the races on the ballots in your county for August 18, head to our Candidates and Races page.

Early voting is currently underway in Central Florida. Again, the August primary is on August 18.