Politics St Johns before Primary Election

More than 550 votes were cast in straw polls administered by the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections office during the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce’s Politics in St. Johns series of events that concluded this week. The candidate “meet and greet” events were held in Ponte Vedra on July 16 and in St. Augustine on August 1.

As in past years when Historic City News reporters covered the main event, the polling event was open to those who registered in advance.  The polls were informal, there were some interesting results including a 19-vote victory for Democratic incumbent Senator Bill Nelson over the current Governor, Republican Rick Scott, in Florida’s U.S. Senate contest.  Statewide polls cite a close race between the two well-known politicians; however, in 2012 Senator Nelson finished behind Republican Connie Mack by more than 20 points in St. Johns County, while Governor Scott won the County’s vote in 2014 by more than 30 points.

“I am very pleased to see how this series has grown over the years; it means that people are becoming more engaged,” Isabelle Renault, Chamber president, said.  “We are proud to be able to provide a platform that will help St. Johns County residents make an informed voting decision.”

The Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican Paul Renner in the State of Florida’s House of Representatives District 24 race, Adam Morley, also scored a 10-vote victory. The first time the two faced each other for the same District 24 House seat in 2016, Renner notched a more than 30-point victory in the General election.

In the race for Governor, U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis enjoys a 6-point lead, according to the Chamber straw poll, garnering 26% of the total vote. This result over Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam more closely reflects the nine-point lead DeSantis is estimated to have in a state-wide poll held by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative rather than those held by St. Pete Polls or the Fabrizio-Lee poll that suggest DeSantis has a much larger lead.

The straw polls’ leading Democratic vote-getter Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum received 19% of the total vote leading the next closest Democratic candidate Gwen Graham who earned 13%. This result represents a much larger departure from the reported trends that have Graham with a small lead over Philip Levine, who placed a distant third among Democrats and sixth overall at Politics in St. Johns.

Combined, the Chamber estimates nearly 1000 people attended Politics in St. Johns events in 2018 the largest attendance since the Chamber launched the series in 2012.  With more than 550 votes cast in the series’ straw polls, Chamber Director of Public Policy Bob Porter believes these results could be useful.

“It’s certainly not a model to predict results,” Porter said. “However, the numbers of people at these events is large and, for the first time this year, we have held the poll in Ponte Vedra as well, so it could be a useful tool for candidates to gauge the public’s sentiment with only weeks to go before the Primaries.”

The St. Augustine Politics in St. Johns is the third and final episode in the Chamber’s series of political events. The first event, the Legislative breakfast, was held in March and featured Congressman John Rutherford, State Representatives Paul Renner and Cyndi Stevenson and County Commission Chair Henry Dean shortly after the state of Florida’s legislative session concluded. The second event in the Politics triumvirate was the first series straw poll and candidate meet and greet event held at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall.