WFLA

Florida 2024 primary elections voter’s guide: Races to watch, what to know

By Nathaniel Rodriguez,

23 hours ago

Related video: Hillsborough County Schools officials respond to court victory over tax referendum

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida 2024 primary election Tuesday Aug. 20 will determine the future of not only the November elections but also local positions in Tampa Bay.

Races to watch

The big race on the ballot is the U.S. Senate primary between incumbent Rick Scott and two other rivals, former National Guardsman Keith Gross of Panama City and actor John Columbus.

While Scott is expected to win his seat due to his incumbency and party backing, the primaries will determine which Democrat he will face off against in November.

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The prime target for Scott has been former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the first South-American-born woman to ever serve in U.S. Congress. She’s had the backing of the Democrats and raised $12 million for the race, but she must first compete against Navy veteran Stanley Campbell, veteran Rod Joseph, and former State Rep. Brian Rush for the Democratic nomination.

As for Congress, all but one race for Florida’s 28 U.S. House Seats are seeing the incumbents running for re-election, with Republican Bill Posey as the one exception.

For state and local races, this year marks the first time in history that the Florida Democratic Party, under the leadership of Nikki Fried, has a candidate for each seat in the Florida Senate and Florida House of Representatives.

School board races are also a major battleground, with Gov. Ron DeSantis pushing 23 candidates to take over leadership in multiple counties.

These candidates include the following races in Tampa Bay:

Mark Cioffi in Hernando County
Layla Collins in Hillsborough County
Myosha Powell in Hillsborough County
Allison Crumbley in Pasco County
Erika Picard of Pinellas County
Danielle Marolf of Pinellas County
Stacy Geier of Pinellas County
Karen Rose of Sarasota County

In response to DeSantis’ attempt to take control of local school boards, the Florida Democratic Party announced that it was throwing its support behind 11 candidates as part of its “Take Back Local” program.

“Our Take Back Local program is our way of investing in the candidates we feel will be most competitive in the upcoming election,” Fried said in a statement on July 26. “We are not going to let Ron DeSantis and his allies take over our school boards with far-right, Moms for Liberty candidates.”

Out of these 11 candidates, two were from Hillsborough County, Nadia Combs and Jessica Vaughn.

Am I eligible to vote?

Florida is a closed-primary state so to take part in party primaries, you had to register your affiliation or non-affiliation by July 22, 2024.

To be an eligible voter, you have to be a Florida resident and U.S. citizen at or over 18 years of age. You also cannot vote if you are a felon (unless your rights were restored) or if you had been “adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting in Florida or any other state.”

Vote by mail

The deadline to get a mail-in ballot was the 12th day before the election, but you can turn in this ballot no later than 7 p.m. on election day.

If you’re planning on mailing the ballot back, you should have given a week to allow the ballot to get back to your supervisor of elections.

However, you can drop your ballot off your local election office, which should have a secure intake station.

How to find your voter precinct

Not sure where to go to vote? Look up your precinct on your county’s Supervisor of Elections website.

You can find links for each county on the Florida Division of Elections website .

Voting in person

Polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Tampa Bay. Voters who get in line by 7 p.m. will be able to vote, but those who arrive afterward will not.

To vote, you must have one or two forms of photo ID, which must have your signature. These can include:

Florida Driver License
Florida ID Card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
U.S. Passport
Debit or Credit Card
Military ID
Student ID
Retirement Center ID
Neighborhood Association ID
Public Assistance ID
Veteran Health ID (issued by VA)
Concealed Weapon License (issued pursuant to s. 790.06)
Government Employee ID

Those without ID can vote provisional ballot, which will be evaluated by the canvassing board.

Have any additional questions? Feel free to ask a poll worker for assistance.

News Channel 8 is Your Local Election Headquarters: We have you covered in the Tampa Bay counties holding elections this year.