Florida Votes Count

Florida voters let their voice be heard this election year as over 8 million Floridians cast their vote, equaling 72.4% of registered voters.  An outstanding 4.2 million did so by early voting and absentee ballot.  In the past, the GOTV (Get-Out-the-Vote) effort has favored Republicans, but that switched this year with the Presidential campaign of Senator Obama.  The Democrats deserve credit this year for their organization and ability for getting the early vote as they did so very successfully.   Going into Election Day they had over a 300,000 advantage in early voters.

Their GOTV efforts were evident as Sen. Obama was able to turn Florida from a Red state to a Blue state, winning 51% of the vote.  His efforts extended across the nation to traditional Red states like Virginia and states that President Bush won in 2004 like Indiana.  Thanks to a well run campaign, a charismatic candidate, a strong call for “Change” across the nation, and voter registration and voter turnout records, we witnessed history last night Senator Barack Obama was declared as the 44th President of the United States.

For a summary of the national landscape, please read “Oh What a Night!” by Bernadette Budde of BIPAC in Washington, D.C. and visit Florida’s Prosperity Project – www.flaprosperityproject.com- for complete national coverage and election results.

The call for “Change” however did not translate down the ballot in Florida.  The Republicans did not fare as badly as was predicted in the Congressional races, the Florida Senate did not change, and very little has changed in the Florida House.  While we thought that some incumbents may have a more difficult time holding on to their seats, or that the Republicans may have greater losses in the Florida House, that was just not the case.  The Democrats lost in the sense of not seizing on an opportunity to make gains with the anti-incumbent and anti-Republican sentiment, along with the “Obama Factor.”

View a complete listing of the Unofficial Election Results as of 1:30 pm

Florida’s Congressional Races

Congressional races in Florida proved not to be as grim for the Republicans had expected.  Two seats were lost as predicted – CD 8 Ric Keller (R) to Democrat Alan Grayson and CD 24 Tom Feeney (R) to Democrat Suzan Kosmas.  It was further expected the Republicans would lose at least one of the Miami-Dade congressional seats, but Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-18), and Congressmen Lincoln Diaz Balart (R-21) and Mario Diaz Balart (R-25) came out as victors on Election Day.   Also, in CD 13 Vern Buchanon (R) decisively won against Christine Jennings (D) in a rematch of his extremely close win riddled with lawsuits in the 2006 election.

The Republicans were able to pick up one seat with the win of Tom Rooney (R) over Congressman Tim Mahoney (D) in CD 16.  And they were able to hold on to a Republican open seat with the election of former Senator Bill Posey in CD 15.

Other incumbents re-elected:  Jeff Miller (R-1); Allen Boyd (D-2); Ander Crenshaw (R-4); Ginny Brown-Waite (R-5); Cliff Stearns (R-6); John Mica (R-7); Gus Bilirakis (R-9); C.W. Young (R-10); Kathy Castor (D-11); Adam Putnam (R-12); Connie Mack (R-14); Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-20); Ron Klein (D-22); and Alcee Hastings (D-23). 

So in the final tally, the Democrats had a net gain of only one Congressional seat in Florida, which in this election year was a victory for the Republicans.     

The Florida Senate

The numbers remain the same in the Senate - 26 Republicans and 14 Democrats - despite a couple of attempts to change those numbers.   Incumbent Senators Tony Hill (D-1); Charlie Dean (R-3); Steve Wise (R-5); Evelyn Lynn (R-7); Mike Fasano (R-11); J.D. Alexander (R-17); Jeff Atwater (R-25); Dave Aronberg (D-27) easily won their re-election.  Senator Gary Siplin (D-19), despite well financed attacks against him from the trial lawyers and the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF),  squeaked out a win against Republican challenger Belinda Ortiz, garnering 50.5% of the vote (a win with 1660 votes). 

A few new faces join the Senate as of last night:  Thad Altman (R-24), who succeeded Senator Bill Posey, who is now Congressman-Elect in CD 15; Chris Smith (D-29) and Eleanor Sobel (D-31) who only faced write-in candidates in the general election after having won their primary elections in August; and Dan Gelber (D-35) who easily won with 72.5% of the vote in this strong Democratic district. While all of them may be new faces in the Senate, they are not new faces to us as each has previously served in the Florida House.  In a race that was expected to be much closer than it was, former Representative Nancy Detert won in the open Senate District 23 against Morgan Bentley (D) with 58.3% of the vote.

The Florida House

Who would have thought that the day after Election Day when someone said "recount," we would be talking about two Florida House races and that the Republicans may actually have a net gain in the Florida House? But that is the scenario that we have before us on November 5th.

There are two races that are headed for recount – HD 9 Peter Boulware (R) v. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (D) and HD 11 Representative Debbie Boyd (D) v. Elizabeth Porter (R).  Both of these races are target seats for the Republicans and would be huge victories if they win.  Currently, Vasilinda is leading by a little over 400 votes in HD 9, and only 42 votes separate incumbent Debbie Boyd from Elizabeth Porter.  We will continue to monitor these two races and alert you to their results.

As of yesterday, the Republicans had a net loss of only one seat in the Florida House, having picked up one seat and losing two seats.  That brings the numbers of the Florida House to 76 Republicans and 44 Democrats, which in a sense is a victory for the Republicans and a loss for the Democrats in this political environment.  If the Republicans are able to pick up the two seats in the recount, then they would have a net gain of one seat, which seemed impossible this election cycle, making their numbers in the House 78 Republicans and 42 Democrats. 

Incumbents who were expected to have a tough time holding on to their seat like Rep. Carl Domino (R) still won their re-election and some more convincingly than ever expected despite the (R) behind their name on the ballot.  Incumbents returning to the Florida House are:  Greg Evers (R-1); Dave Murzin (R-2); Clay Ford (R-3); Bill Proctor (R-20);  Charles Chestnut (D-23); Kurt Kelly (R-24); Pat Patterson (R-26); Dorothy Hukill (R-28); Ralph Poppell (R-29); Sandy Adams (R-33); Dean Cannon (R-35); Scott Randolph (D-36); Bryan Nelson (R-38);  Robert Schenck (R-44); John Legg (R-46); Kevin Ambler (R-47); Peter Nehr (R-48); Darren Soto (D-49); Janet Long (D-51); Bill Heller (D-52); Jim Frishe (R-54); Darryl Rouson (D-55); Faye Culp (R-57); Ed Homan (R-60); Ron Reagan (R-67); Keith Fitzgerald (D-69); Doug Holder (R-70); Paige Kreegel (R-72); Nick Thompson (R-73); Trudi Williams (R-75); Denise Grimsley (R-77); William Snyder (R-82); Carl Domino (R-83); Maria Sachs (D-86); Adam Hasner (R-87); Mary Brandenburg (D-89); Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-91); Perry Thurston, Jr. (D-93); Jim Waldman (D-95); Martin Kiar (D-97); Elaine Schwartz (D-99); Matt Hudson (R-101); Eddy Gonzalez (R-102); Luis Garcia (D-107); David Rivera (R-112); Carlos Lopez-Cantera (R-113); Julio Robaina (R-117); and Juan Zapata (R-119). 

There is only one incumbent that will not be returning to the Florida House.  Representative Tony Sasso (D) won a special election earlier this year in HD 32.  Historically this was a Republican seat, so it was on the Republican target list and they came out as victors this time around with their candidate Steve Crisafulli unseating the incumbent with 52.2% of the vote.

In the open seats, the Republicans lost two seats. Leonard Bembry (D) was the winner in HD 10 with 53.6% of the vote against Republican challenger Don Curtis.  This seat was previously held by Rep. Will Kendrick, who was term-limited and was elected as a Democrat, but changed his party affiliation to Republican after being elected for his final term.   Adam Fetterman (D) won against Mike DiTerlizzi (R) in HD 81, historically a Republican seat and most recently held by Rep. Gayle Harrell (R), who was term limited.

An important seat to note is HD 21 and the Republican's ability to hold on to this seat with Charles Van Zant (R) winning against Linda Myers (D) with 51.5% of the vote.  It was predicted earlier that this seat would be a loss for the Republicans.

Other new faces joining the Florida House are:  Brad Drake (R-5); Alan Williams (D-8); Janet Adkins (R-12); Mia Jones (D-14); Lake Ray (R-17); Ronald “Doc” Renuart (R-18); Mike Weinstein (R-19); Dwayne Taylor (D-27); Ritch Workman (R-30); John Tobia (R-31); Eric Eisnaugle (R-40); Marlene O’Toole (R-42); Rachel Burgin (R-56); Kelli Stargel (R-64); John Wood (R-65); Ken Roberson (R-71); Mike Horner (R-79); Joe Abruzzo (D-85); Richard Steinberg (D-106); Esteban Bovo (R-110); Erik Fresen (R-111).

Constitutional Amendments

In addition to the races, there were a number of constitutional amendments proposed on the ballot.  For an amendment to pass it must receive 60% of the vote.  Three of the of the six proposed amendments passed yesterday; one is headed for a recount.

Amendment 6, regarding the Assessment of Working Waterfront Property Based Upon Current Use, gained the most support on Election Day with an impressive 70.5% approval.  This amendment ensures that working waterfronts be taxed at “current use” and not “highest and best use” securing greater public access to Florida’s waterways by not taxing Florida’s marine related businesses unfairly.  

Amendment 3, regarding Changes and Improvements Not Affecting the Assessed Value of Residential Real Property, has received 60.4% approval.  Because it has been approved by less than half of a percentage point, it will automatically be ordered for a recount by the Secretary of State, according to Florida law. 

Other amendments passing were:
Amendment 2 - Florida Marriage Protection Amendment – 62.1%
Amendment 4 - Property Tax Exemption of Perpetually Conserved Land: Classification and Assessment of Land Used for Conservation - 68.5 %

Those that did not pass were:
Amendment 1 - Declaration of Rights – 52.1%
Amendment 8 - Local Option Community College Funding – 56.5%

View AIF’s analysis and position on each of the amendments in the "Know Your Constitutional Amendment"s section of the latest Employer Advocate