It'll be here before you know

Welcome to April! Strapped in and ready to go?

We are now 11 weeks from ballot qualifying, so I thought I’d kick off April with a little rundown on where we sit. 

(Two important links: Citrus County Supervisor of Elections, and the Florida Division of Elections. People interested in this stuff can spend HOURS poring over campaign info. Or maybe that’s just me.)​

---

In no particular order…

— Important date: April 10. That’s the deadline for candidates to report their contributions and expenses from January to March. We’ve had new candidates since January and others have revved up their campaigns in recent weeks, so that is one huge report. We’ll have a much better idea of how some races are stacking up.

(And yes, I’m going to over-analyze it. Might as well warn you now.)

— Ballot qualifying for federal and judicial offices is different than everyone else: the week of April 22. Congressman Gus Bilirakis has two Republican challengers.

We elect county court and circuit court judges. County court is easy because the candidates are local lawyers. We know which ones are right for the job.

Circuit court is another animal. Our Fifth Judicial Circuit is five counties: Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter. While a chief judge gives out assignments, circuit judges generally serve the county in which they run.

All five counties vote for the circuit court judge no matter where in the circuit he/she presides. This year, it looks like we get to vote for a Lake County circuit judge.

— Qualifying for the rest of the ballot is the week of June 10. Anything can happen between now and then, but it’s a good bet that barring shenanigans, we’re unlikely to see many more candidates join in.

I’ll explain.

In county races, candidates choose one of two separate paths to the ballot. The most popular is by petition method where 1,222 valid signed petition cards are required. 

There is a downside. Time being the biggest. While ballot qualifying is in June the deadline to go the petition route is May 13. So far, eight candidates have reached the petition criteria, including all four names in the hat for sheriff. Others are still in the signature-gathering process.

Or, they’re considering the alternative: pay a qualifying fee. The fee is 6% of the office salary (4% if you're an NPA/minor party).

It’s not chump change: $10,949 (or $7,223 minor party) for sheriff; $4,393 (or $2,929 NPA) for county commissioner. Or, for the non-partisan School Board, it’s $1,705.

I run through all this math for a reason. 

It’s not an easy route for candidates, particularly challengers, to the ballot. I’m always amazed at their tenacity in getting to the starting line.

— We’re hoping for a clean ballot — Republican and Democratic candidates — to avoid a repeat of the 2022 County Commission District 2 race. So far, that looks possible.

Paul Grogan, our favorite NPA from 2022, is running again in County Commission District 5. John Woods, from the Constitution Party of Florida, is in District 3. Neither has turned in any verified petition signatures, and it's difficult to see either of those guys plopping down a $3,000 filing fee just to disrupt the primary.

— Without a doubt, all eyes are on the sheriff’s race. With four strong Republicans — Calvin Adams, Doug Alexander, Mike Prendergast, and Dave Vincent — something’s gotta give.

What’s interesting is the collective feeling among the three challengers that their aim is removing the incumbent from office, as opposed to defeating one another. We need to see if that pledge holds up after two months of full sprint campaigning. Any of these three start attacking one another, that defeats their shared goal.

Momentum at the right time is always significant, and if ever there was a race where the incumbent’s top challenger needs to vault past qualifying week and into that final dash to the primary, it’s this one. That’s what I’m looking for. Who is carrying the momentum? Who has the public excited?

No front-runners yet. I know we all got giddy when Alexander entered the race, but both Vincent and Adams have strong followings. Vincent especially. I couldn’t go anywhere at the Citrus County Fair last week without running into a green-shirted Vincent supporter.

It’s April. Ballot qualifying is in June. Primary is Aug. 20.

It’ll be here tomorrow.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Enjoying the blog? Please consider supporting it at Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon.

​