- April 18, 2024
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Carol Mikola, Fanny C. Herrera and Sharon Demers attended a Marco Rubio campaign stop in Palm Coast, days before the election. Republican enthusiasm carried the day on Nov. 8 in local races. Brian McMillan
UPDATE: This story was updated on Nov. 14 to reflect that there were zero Democratic victories in November. Previously, the story said there were no victories this year.
After she got home from school on Election Day, my 7-year-old daughter, Ellie, told me she had voted for Hillary Clinton in the mock election held in her first-grade class. I asked what made her pick Hillary, and she said, “Just my feeling. I don’t really do things for a reason.”
In that respect, she is not unlike many of us. In the voting booth, sometimes you just have to go with your gut. And the results show that Donald Trump represents the “feeling” that a majority of Americans have about the state of our great country and about our future.
Before the drama unfolded on the national stage, however, we got our local results, and I was privileged to join David Ayres, Patrick Kelly and Milissa Holland at the WNZF studio to talk politics. Here are my three takeaways regarding the local races:
There were zero Democratic victories in this November's local results. Zero. (Colleen Conkin, a Democrat, was re-elected to the School Board in the Aug. 30 primary and is the lone elected Democrat in Flagler County.) The national and state races were 60-40 landslides for Republicans.
Former City Councilman Jason DeLorenzo, in my view, was an extremely strong Democratic candidate for County Commission and lost. George Hanns, a Democratic incumbent for the County Commission, lost big.
And even more surprising, Democratic incumbent Barbara Revels lost her seat on the County Commission after eight strong years. In my view, there was no good reason to remove her.
Challenger Dave Sullivan entered the race at the last minute and easily defeated a no-show opponent in the Republican primary. Then, in my view, he rode the Republican momentum into office. That’s not to take away from his abilities; I believe Sullivan will do a great job, and he has been a key player in Republican leadership here for years. He’s smart, principled and goodhearted.
But this has to be concerning for future Democratic candidates.
Political newcomer Nick Klufas has achieved something remarkable: The 28-year-old defeated Pam Richardson to join the Palm Coast City Council. Richardson, who has paid her dues by being involved for years in the political world, got more votes than Klufas in the primary, making her the favorite on Nov. 8. But Klufas turned things around and won 53-47. It was an impressive win, and I look forward to big things from him.
The Observer was critical of Maria Barbosa in our endorsements and recommended her opponent, Myra Middleton-Valentine. But Barbosa is a fighter. I congratulate her on her dramatic, 60-40 win, and I look forward to getting to know her better over the next four years.
To all the candidates, thank you for your dedication to making our community such a wonderful place to raise my family.
