As the qualifying period closed for the November election, most of the incumbent island candidates seeking office within their special districts were reelected to their seats as they were unopposed.<\/p>\n
Qualifying for county, school board, multi-county and independent special district races took place on June 8-12, according to Lee County Elections. Candidates could begin pre-qualifying on May 25.<\/p>\n
For the islands, the following seats were settled as only one candidate qualified:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Captiva Island Fire Control District: Seat 3<\/p>\n
Incumbent Seat 3 Commissioner Jeffrey B. Brown was elected unopposed. The seat is a four-year term from 2026-30.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Sanibel Fire and Rescue District: Seats 1 and 2<\/p>\n
Incumbent Seat 1 Commissioner Richard McCurry and incumbent Seat 2 Commissioner Bruce Cochrane were elected unopposed. The seats are four-year terms from 2026-30.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Sanibel Public Library District: Seats 4, 5, 6 and 7<\/p>\n
Incumbent Seat 1 Commissioner Linda Uhler, incumbent Seat 3 Commissioner Michelle Walker and incumbent Seat 5 Commissioner Shelley Greggs were elected unopposed. Also, Seat 2 candidate Chelle Koster Walton was elected unopposed. The seats are four-year terms from 2026-30. In addition, incumbent Seat 6 Commissioner Sandon C. Shepard and incumbent Seat 7 Commissioner Ellen Ryan-Vinciguerra were elected unopposed. The seats are two-year terms from 2026-28.<\/p>\n
All independent special district offices are nonpartisan and only appear in the general election.<\/p>\n
The following islands races will be on the ballot:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Captiva Erosion Prevention District: Seats 1 and 3<\/p>\n
Incumbent Seat 1 Commissioner John Raburn Dupre and challenger Margarethe Thye-Miville qualified. Incumbent Seat 3 Commissioner Bob Walter and challenger Michael Christopher Mullins qualified. The seats are four-year terms from 2026-30.<\/p>\n
Additional special district races that were settled with one qualifying candidate were:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Lee County Mosquito Control District: Areas 2, 4 and 6<\/p>\n
Incumbent Area 2 Commissioner Brian F. Farrar, incumbent Area 4 Commissioner Stephen R. Bowen and incumbent Area 6 Commissioner Tom Hart were elected unopposed. The seats are four-year terms from 2026-30.<\/p>\n
COUNTY RACES<\/p>\n
The following Lee County seats are up for election for voters on the islands:<\/p>\n
\u2013 County Commission: Districts 2, 4 and 5<\/p>\n
Republican and incumbent District 2 Commissioner Cecil L. Pendergrass and Democrat challenger Elliot Taylor qualified. Republican and incumbent District 4 Commissioner Brian Hamman and no party affiliation (NPA) challenger DeMaria \u201cPrincess\u201d Artis qualified. The seats are four-year terms from 2026-30. In addition, Republican and incumbent District 5 Commissioner Trish Petrosky and Republican challenger Amanda Cochran qualified. The seat is a two-year term from 2026-28.<\/p>\n
\u2013 School Board: Districts 1 and 6<\/p>\n
Incumbent District 1 School Board Member Sam Fisher and challenger Jenn McDaigle qualified. Incumbent District 6 School Board Member Jada Langford-Fleming and challenger India Palencia qualified. The seats are four-year terms from 2026-30. <\/p>\n
\u2013 Supervisor of Elections:<\/p>\n
Republican and incumbent Supervisor of Elections Jenna Persons-Mulicka and Democrat challenger Chris Vignieri qualified. The seat is a two-year term from 2026-28.<\/p>\n
STATE, FEDERAL RACES<\/p>\n
The following races were settled with one qualifying candidate:<\/p>\n
\u2013 20th Judicial Circuit State Attorney:<\/p>\n
Republican and incumbent State Attorney Amira Fox was elected unopposed. The seat is a four-year term from 2026-30.<\/p>\n
\u2013 20th Judicial Circuit Public Defender:<\/p>\n
Republican and incumbent Public Defender Kathleen A. Smith was elected unopposed. The seat is a four-year term from 2026-30.<\/p>\n
On the ballot for voters on the islands, the state races will include: governor; attorney general; chief financial officer; commissioner of agriculture; and House of Representatives, District 80.<\/p>\n
The federal races will include: Senate; and Representatives in Congress, District 19.<\/p>\n
Florida is a closed primary election state. As such, voters not registered as members of a political party may not get to vote for respective party candidates or nominees for an office in a primary election.<\/p>\n
The primary election is Aug. 18. The general election is Nov. 3.<\/p>\n
Early voting for the primary will open on Aug. 8 and run daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Aug. 15. Early voting for the general will open on Oct. 19 and run daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Oct. 31.<\/p>\n
For more information, visit https:\/\/www.lee.vote\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n