Miami-Dade School Board races continue to November election

Two Miami-Dade School Board races are continuing on to November while one incumbent secured another term.

State of play: In District 9, incumbent Luisa Santos was on track to easily defeat Kimberly Beltran with 62% of the vote with all but one precinct reporting, according to unofficial results.

• In District 7, incumbent Mary Blanco and Max Tuchman earned 45% and 31%, respectively, and will face off again in the general election.
• The District 3 race to succeed Lucia Baez-Geller will be a face-off between Joseph Geller (no relation to Baez-Geller) who earned 33% of the vote, and Martin Karp, who earned 32%.

Why it matters: Yesterday's results show voters are split on the board's conservative shift in recent years .

• Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Blanco in 2023 and endorsed her again this year.
• Last year, he placed Santos on his target list .

Between the lines: Steve Gallon III (District 1) and Danny Espino (District 5) were automatically reelected Tuesday without opposition.

The intrigue: Karp loaned hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign, amassing a war chest of nearly $795,000 – the most of any candidate for Miami-Dade's school board seats.