AP Omits Crucial Context from Florida Primary Election Results to Frame an Anti-DeSantis Narrative
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis endorsed 23 different school board candidates for the 2024 Florida Primary Election, including several who opposed incumbents in districts where demographics and past election data indicated the odds were heavily in favor of re-election for sitting board members.
While it’s true that DeSantis’ win-to-loss margin was smaller than in previous cycles, the losses occurred in districts where conservatives have rarely enjoyed success, including the Democratic stronghold of Palm Beach and the blue sections of Hillsborough (Tampa) and Pinellas (St. Petersburg). Ironically, the only reason that some of those candidates were considered to have a fighting chance is because of DeSantis’ remarkable feat of flipping Hillsborough and other formerly blue counties to red during his landslide victory two years ago over Charlie Crist, all while Democrats in other states greatly exceeded election expectations. In Pinellas County, School Board District 1 votes county-wide.
Context and nuance are critical components of election analysis. In Florida, judicial and school board candidates compete in non-partisan primaries.
Many voters don’t devote as much time to researching candidates in races considered “low profile” compared to candidates running for federal and state representative seats. As a result, many voters aren’t aware of a few key differences between school board candidate campaigns compared to others.
As a result of the format, many voters aren’t as informed about the political backgrounds and stances of school board candidates. School board candidates are allowed to express their political views throughout their campaigns, but as far as the ballot and primary election process is concerned, they aren’t associated with a particular party. In other words, a school board candidate who is registered to vote as a Republican still must compete in the primary election against candidates who could be registered to vote as a Democrat.
In a school board race with more than two candidates, a school board candidate must get 50% of the vote in order to win and avoid the general election. If no candidate reaches 50%, then the two candidates with the highest percentage of votes advance to the general election, where they could face an opponent who may be a fellow party member, a member of the opposing party, or an independent.
Despite all the facts mentioned above, the Associated Press framed the unsurprising outcomes as a new rebuke of Ron DeSantis.
