Naya Young holdsa commanding lead in Tampa’s District 5 City Council race, based on the first batch of early votes reported Tuesday evening.
Young, who has never before run for elected office, had roughly 58% of the vote early Tuesday. Thomas Scott, a former Tampa City Council member and Hillsborough County commissioner, trailed with nearly 42%.
All early votes and some vote-by-mail ballots have been reported. No election day votes have been reported.
The nonpartisan election was called in June after the death of former council member Gwen Henderson. The winner will serve the remainder of Henderson’s term through April 2027 and represent some of the wealthiest and poorest parts of Tampa — including downtown, Ybor City, East Tampa and parts of West Tampa.
It’s also the city’s only majority-minority district, and the winner will be the lone Black representative on the eight-member council.
Young, 33, is seeking public office for the first time. She works for the the Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association and has said her priorities include youth empowerment, smart growth and economic development.
She was endorsed by Florida Rising, Florida for All and a number of Tampa politicians, including former Hillsborough County commissioner and state legislator Lesley Miller and his wife, former Tampa City Council member Gwendolyn Miller.
Scott, 72, is longtime pastor at 34th Street Church of God in East Tampa and received endorsements from the Tampa Police Benevolent Association, Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister and former state Sen. Janet Cruz, among others.
He was also backed by some of the city’s largest developers, and received thousand of dollars from construction and development companies, real estate agents and political committees affiliated with those industries.
On the campaign trail, Scott said his top issues are economic opportunity, affordable housing and job creation.
Last month’s special election saw low turnout of around 12%. Of 45,000 voters in the district, just more than than 5,400 ballots were cast.
Both candidates said they worked to boost voter participation in the few weeks leading up to the runoff.
“We’re touching everybody,” Scott told the Tampa Bay Times earlier this month. “Knocking on doors, phone banking, mail-outs — the works.”
The winner will likely be sworn in later this week, after the election results are certified.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.