Elsewhere in Central Florida, Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson lost the GOP primary to Amy Pennock.
Pennock won 60% of votes cast.
In Osceola County, Sheriff Marcos Lopez won the Democratic primary for sheriff. He will advance to the general election in November.
8:35 p.m. update
Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington said that a majority of supervisor of elections’ websites throughout the state are down.
The website host is working to correct the issue, she said.
Channel 9 has learned that the “cyber incident” is affecting 59 of 67 counties in Florida.
It appears to be an issue involving a vendor, not an issue with the state or the counties themselves, sources tell Channel 9.
Jackson County Supervisor of Elections Carol Dunaway posted the following statement on her Facebook page:
“Our website is experiencing difficulties on the vendor side. We will have results posted here when they are available. Vote-by-mail and early voting results will be released at 7 p.m. Because of the website issue, those results may be delayed. Please have patience with us. This is a vendor-related issue and out of our hands.”
8:15 p.m. update
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz has defeated an opponent backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to win the Tuesday’s Republican primary in one of Florida’s most conservative congressional districts.
Gaetz defeated former Navy pilot Aaron Dimmock, who was backed by a McCarthy-controlled political committee.
Gaetz is considered a lock to beat Democrat Gay Valimont in a district that tends to support Republicans by more than a 2-1 ratio.
Gaetz led the effort to oust McCarthy last year, and McCarthy in turn used his political action committee to spend $3 million against Gaetz.
The committee aired commercials alleging that Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old, an allegation currently being investigated by the House Ethics Committee. Gaetz maintains his innocence.
Barring an upset, Gaetz is set to win his fifth term in Congress, where he’s built a national reputation as a disruptor and a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump.
8:10 p.m. update
Thomas Chalifoux wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 9th Congressional District.
Robert Rochford wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 14th Congressional District.
8 p.m. update
Rick Scott has won the Republican primary in Florida, advancing to a Nov. 5 showdown against the winner of the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat.
Scott -- who won his 2018 race by a razor-thin margin of about 10,000 votes -- has even larger ambitions as he looks to seek the Senate Republican leader seat if he wins the general election.
An ally of former President Donald Trump, Scott sought the Senate leadership position in 2022 and lost by a 37-10 vote to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. This year, with McConnell stepping down, Scott could seek the position again
Florida has shifted politically in the six years since Scott narrowly won office in 2018. At the time, Democrats outnumbered Republicans, but now Republicans have more than a 1 million-voter advantage over Democrats.
Scott will face former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in a race that could largely hinge on the success of their parties’ presidential candidates.
7:53 p.m. update
Chris Eddy wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 25th Congressional District.
Dan Franzese wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District.
Neal Dunn has won the Republican nomination for the U.S. House in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District.
7:40 p.m. update
Vern Buchanan wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 16th Congressional District.
Andrea Kale wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 18th Congressional District.
Maria Elvira Salazar wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 27th Congressional District.
Sandy Kennedy wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 8th Congressional District.
7:35 p.m. update
Jennifer Adams wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 7th Congressional District.
Laurel Lee wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 15th Congressional District.
7:25 p.m. update
Maxwell Frost wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 10th Congressional District.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 25th Congressional District.
Brian Mast wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 21st Congressional District.
7:20 p.m. update
Gus Bilirakis wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 12th Congressional District.
Kat Cammack wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 3rd Congressional District
7:15 p.m. update
Mike Haridopolos wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 8th Congressional District.
John Rutherford wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 5th Congressional District.
Mario Diaz-Balart wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 26th Congressional District.
7:10 p.m. update
Cory Mills wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 7th Congressional District.
Daniel Webster wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 11th Congressional District.
Michael Waltz wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Florida’s 6th Congressional District.
7 p.m. update
Polls have closed in most of Florida.
Click here for live results as they come in to our newsroom.
6:20 p.m. update
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made his presence felt, endorsing 23 school board candidates across 14 counties in the state.
Although DeSantis’ name is not on the ballot, his agenda is clear -- he wants to see more conservative candidates on school boards to end what he calls “woke ideology” in schools.
The seats are officially nonpartisan, but in addition to his endorsements, the Republican governor also targeted 14 incumbent school board members that he wants to see voted out.
DeSantis aims to stop teaching practices for Critical Race Theory and Gender Theory in Florida classrooms.
In the last election, he endorsed 30 school board candidates -- 25 of whom either won or advanced to a runoff election.
Professor Jon Hanley, of the University of Central Florida, told Channel 9 that same thing could happen again Tuesday evening.
“This is something that came out of the 2020 election and discussion of ‘wokeness’ and Critical Race Theory moving into 2022,” he said. “And DeSantis certainly made it a cornerstone of his approach.”
4:55 p.m. update
All polling places will close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, but if you’re in line by then, you’ll still be able to cast your ballot.
The Orange County Supervisor of Elections’ office said that it expects between 20,000 to 30,000 people to vote Tuesday.
In terms of voter turnout, only 14 percent of registered voters in Orange County have cast their ballots.
But more than 55,000 people voted by mail and about 40,000 people voted early.
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