Cullen wins primary Tax Collector race against Pritchett

Lisa Cullen is one step closer to continuing her reign as Brevard’s Tax Collector.

Cullen easily beat County Commissioner Rita Pritchett in Tuesday’s primary election. Cullen received 50,133 votes (84.06%) while Pritchett got 9,506 votes (15.94%).

Cullen, a Canaveral Groves resident, has won three unopposed elections since taking office in 2009. Prior to leading the agency, she worked in the Tax Collector's Office for decades.

“I am so humbled by the voters of Brevard County,” Cullen told FLORIDA TODAY on Tuesday night. “This has been my career and it’s been a career of service and one that I love. I love Brevard County. We’ll continue to fight to the end.”

Next in the race for Brevard County's Tax Collector?

Cullen moves on to the Nov. 5 general election where she’ll face a write-in candidate whose name will not appear on the ballot.

The tax collector position pays an annual salary of $184,356 and has a four-year term.

Because there is a write-in candidate, under state election law, only Republicans were able to vote in the GOP primary for tax collector. Had there been only Republicans running and no write-in candidate, the primary would have been open to all voters, including Democrats, members of minor political parties and "no party affiliation" voters.

The write-in candidate, Daniel Edwin Lopez , filed paperwork to run right before the deadline. Lopez is a 27-year-old Cocoa resident with no political experience.

Lopez previously told FLORIDA TODAY he had no plans to fund-raise and said his campaign strategy involved "some petitioning." A former U.S. Marine, Lopez told FLORIDA TODAY he had an interest in running for office since he was a child. But reporters found no evidence that Lopez has ever been politically active or even voted in an election.

Lopez is connected to Pritchett through their mutual association with New Life Space Coast Church in Titusville, where Pritchett has long served as an administrator and radio host, and Lopez works as a youth minister, according to his LinkedIn page .

He previously downplayed their association, and denied being asked to run by Pritchett or anyone in her orbit as a so-called "ghost candidate," who enter races to close primaries.

"This was purely an influence in thought from the man up above," he said.

Results

With 159/162 of precincts reporting, here are the vote totals:

Cullen: 50,133 (84.06%)

Pritchett: 9,506 (15.94%)

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Cullen wins primary Tax Collector race against Pritchett