General elections in deep red Sarasota and Manatee counties are typically much less competitive than the primaries. Nevertheless, the November election is always the belle of the ball as far as attention and voter turnout.
At the top of the 2024 general election ballot is the presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is also running his first reelection campaign since he edged out Bill Nelson to win in 2018. Scott has a history of winning state-wide elections by tight margins since defeating Alex Sink to become governor in 2010. In 2024, he faces former Democratic congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
2024 Florida ballot amendments
There will also be six ballot amendments for Florida voters to decide on – which must receive 60% of the vote to be added to the state constitution.
Amendment 1 would reshape district school board races into partisan elections, beginning in 2026.
Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.
Amendment 2 would establish a constitutional right to hunt and fish in Florida.
Amendment 3 would allow Floridians age 21 and older to “to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories” for recreational use – with some possession limits.
Amendment 4 would guarantee legal access to abortion before fetal viability in Florida.
Amendment 5 is an annual adjustment to homestead exemptions based on inflation.
Amendment 6 would repeal public campaign financing.
How to vote in Sarasota County
The deadline for Florida voters to register for the general election is Oct. 7. Registered voters need a current photo identification with a valid signature to vote. A Florida driver’s license, student ID, or U.S. passport would work.
“If your photo ID does not contain your signature, an additional ID with your signature is required,” according to the Supervisor of Elections website.
The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is 5 p.m. on Oct. 24. Mail ballots can be dropped off at any of the three Supervisor of Elections offices in Sarasota, Venice, and North Port from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from through Nov. 5. Hours will be extended during early voting.
Request a vote-by-mail ballot:Sarasota County
Request a vote-by-mail ballot:Manatee County
The in-person early voting period runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from Oct. 21 through Nov. 3. There are 10 early voting locations in Sarasota County, which includes the elections offices and major libraries.
Election day polls will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Voters can check their assigned election day precinct on the Supervisor of Elections’ website.
Here is a look at the major races in Sarasota County:
U.S. House of Representatives – District 17: Republican incumbent Greg Steube vs. Democrat Manny Lopez
Former educator Manny Lopez faces an uphill battle of El Capitan proportions as he challenges Rep. Greg Steube, who has represented Sarasota in Congress since 2018. One of Trump’s most vocal allies in the House, Steube has never received less than 62% of a vote share since he first ran for Congress.
Lopez's campaign highlights familiar themes for the Democrats in 2024: Abortion rights, protection of Social Security and Medicare, and economic development focused on the middle class. His website offers translation in English, Spanish and Ukrainian.
Steube, a veteran of the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is a former Florida state representative and state senator. He regularly appears on TV advocating for Trump. He touts a pro-life, pro-second amendment platform and takes a hard-right stance on illegal immigration.
Florida House District 73: Republican incumbent Fiona McFarland vs. Democrat Derek Reich
In a rematch of the 2022 election, Rep. Fiona McFarland will again face Sarasota High School social studies teacher Derek Reich.
McFarland is a former Navy veteran who consulted with McKinsey and Company. She is the chair of the Transportation & Modals Subcommittee in the Florida House.
Florida House District 74: Republican incumbent James Buchanan vs. Democrat Nancy M.H. Simpson
Rep. James Buchanan trounced his primary opponent in August and is in a commanding position for reelection to a fourth and final term in the state house. He faces Democrat Nancy Simpson, who lost a Charter Review Board election to Alexandra Coe in 2022.
Florida House District 75: Republican Danny Nix vs. Democrat Tony Dunbar
Danny Nix is vying to replace House Majority Leader Michael Grant as the next Republican up. He was appointed by DeSantis to the Florida Southwestern State College Board of Trustees in 2019 and is the President of the Realtors of Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port-DeSoto, Inc.
His Democrat trying to play spoiler in the traditionally red district is Tony Dunbar, a former financial attorney and environmental activist.
District 75 encompasses Englewood and northern Charlotte County.
Sarasota County Commission – District 3, Southern Sarasota County, Venice, and North Port: Republican Tom Knight vs. Independent Shari Thornton
Tom Knight’s decisive victory in the GOP primary against appointed incumbent Neil Rainford put the former Sarasota County sheriff in the driver’s seat to represent southern Sarasota County on the commission.
The contentious head-to-head battle between Knight and Rainford saw the mostfunds raised between two candidates in the entire county. Knight now faces Shari Thornton, a local activist who has focused her campaign on what she characterizes as negligent overdevelopment in the county.
Although Knight ran as more moderate than Rainford on development and cultural issues, Thornton is more outspoken about the county's pro-growth stance. She’s listed among the Sarasota Democrats’ slate of candidate choices, albeit as an “independent.”
At an August Tiger Bay panel, Knight compared Sarasota’s most influential developers to the gangs he dealt with as sheriff, though he received significant funding from one of the county's largest developers, Hugh Culverhouse Jr.
Thornton’s campaign centers on over development. She estimated at the panel that 80% of voters she has spoken to are concerned about development.
Sarasota County Tax Collector: Republican Mike Moran vs. Democrat Barbara Ford-Coates
Barbara Ford-Coates has resisted Sarasota’s strong red tide to be the only countywide elected Democrat for decades. However, the longtime tax collector’s bid for an 11th term may be her toughest yet as she faces two-term County Commissioner Mike Moran.
Moran cruised to win the GOP primary election against Charles Bear.
Moran accused Ford-Coates of "over taxation" and "ripping off Sarasota County taxpayers,” claiming $17.7 million of excess fees in 2023.Ford-Coates dismissed the attack, saying her office followed state law regarding the collections. County tax collectors' offices do not themselves levy taxes, but are required to collect the taxes and fees of local governments and state agencies.
A Herald-Tribune report detailed that Moran had spent more than $30,000 of public funds on upscale restaurants and hotels as the executive director of the Florida PACE Funding Agency.
In September, Ford-Coates was awarded the Legacy Award for Continued Excellence in Financial Operations by the Florida Tax Collectors Association. In 2016, she was named a Public Sector Champion for Excellence in Office Leadership by Thomson Reuters.
Sarasota City CommissionDistrict 1: Commissioner Kyle Battie vs. Sequoia Felton
Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie is running for his first reelection since his 2020 victory over Willie Shaw. However, Shaw and former Sarasota Mayor Fredd Atkins have backed Sequoia Felton to replace the commissioner. Felton is a relative political newcomer, who has served on the city’s Human Relations Board.
Battie is a native son to Sarasota. He worked in broadcasting and as a model before his election to the commission.
The two candidates met at a Tiger Bay forum in July where Battie defended developer incentives as a way to promote affordable housing; he said the issue would be at the top of his agenda during a second term.
The commissioner has been engaged in an ongoing lawsuit after he accused a local activist during a city meeting of referring to him as a racial epithet in a Facebook post. The activist sued him, claiming his evidence was doctored. The city has paid the bill for $25,000 of the commissioner’s legal costs so far.
Felton said she is running because she feels development in Sarasota has not been environmentally sustainable. She also emphasized affordable housing and greater pedestrian access.
Battie and Felton advanced to a November runoff after August’s primary election. Battie beat Felton by 89 votes out of 2,261 cast in the primary.
District 1 covers much of North Sarasota – Bayou Oaks, Gillespie, and most of the Rosemary District. It also contains Newtown, home to Sarasota’s only significant Black voting bloc.
Sarasota City CommissionDistrict 2: Mayor Liz Alpert vs. Ron Kashden
Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert is running for her third, and likely final, term on the city commission. She faces a well-funded opponent in Ron Kashden, a former software executive and mainstay during the commission's public comment periods.
Like many local challenger candidates, Kashden is focused on what he sees as an irresponsible green light from city hall for developers and their interests.
Alpert has said her two biggest priorities would be affordable housing and growth.
District 2 includes the city’s coast, St. Armand's Circle, and Downtown.
Sarasota City Commission District 3: Commissioner Erik Arroyo vs. Kathy Kelly Olrich
Commissioner Erik Arroyo is also seeking his first reelection since he joined the commission in 2020. He faces Kathy Kelley Ohlrich, a former chair of the city’s Planning Board and Citizens with Disabilities advisory board.
A former mayor and the only Republican on the City Commission, Arroyo is a corporate and estate planning attorney and a partner at the Arroyo | McArdle law firm.The commissioner said in a statement earlier this year his focus during a second term would be "safeguarding our natural resources, ensuring responsible and sustainable development, and addressing the urgent issue of rising property insurance costs."
A Herald-Tribune inquiry in March found that Arroyo was a registered agent for a developer he brought to City Hall to pitch a private development at Ken Thompson Park. The Sarasota City Attorney later issued a memorandum that Arroyo’s relationship with the developer constituted a conflict of interest.
Ohlrich has been a vocal local activist against over development in Sarasota. She also ranVice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch's previous commission campaign.
District 3 is mainly composed of eastern Sarasota.
North Port City Commission District 1: Mayor Alice White vs. Demetrius Petrow
Mayor Alice White, a North Port resident of 33 years, faces a challenge from political newcomer Demetrius Petrow.
North Port City Commission District 2: Commissioner Barbara Langdon vs. Josh Smith
Barbara Langdon advanced in the 2020 primary for the City Commission by just one vote after a recount. Now she faces Josh Smith, a local business owner and political newcomer.
Langdon bested Smith by about seven points in the August primary as both advanced to the runoff.
North Port City Commission District 3: Andrew Sias vs. David Duval
Andrew Sias and David Duval are competing to replace the term-limited Commissioner Debbie McDowell.
Sias ran for the seat in 2016 and lost. He has previously served as chairman of the North Port Charter Review Board. He recruited his friend Sias to also briefly on the board.
Venice City Council District 3: Kevin Engelke vs. Patricia Ouellette
Kevin Engelke and Patricia Ouelletteare both transplants: Engelke is an insurance executive who moved to Venice full-time from New Jersey during the COVID-19 pandemic and Ouellette is an estate attorney from Michigan.
Engelke and Ouellette face off after incumbent Helen Moore declined to run for a third term.
Venice City Council District 4: Vice Mayor Jim Boldt vs. Joan Iacono
Jim Boldt is running for his second term on the Venice City Council. The vice mayor told the Herald-Tribune in May he had unfinished business on the council. Such as the Northeast Park and Laurel Road and wage increases for police officers.
He’s being challenged by Joan Iacono, a retired attorney from Yonkers, New York. Iacono previously told the Herald-Tribune she’s concerned about overdevelopment and a lack of concern from city hall about its constituents.
Venice Election Charter Referendum
A referendum in November will allow Venice voters to decide whether to get rid of odd-year city elections. Council members would serve a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms. The change would bring Venice’s elections in line with other local municipalities.
Other Sarasota County races
Teresa Mast is all but guaranteed victory after her victory against Alexandra Coe in the GOP primary for District 1 of the Sarasota County Commission.
To call the other general election candidate “token opposition” for Mast would be generous. Hope Williams, a qualified write-in candidate, has raised zero dollars and is the 20-year-old daughter of Traci Williams, the volunteer coordinator for Mast's campaign.
District 5 County Commissioner Ron Cutsinger is also opposed for another four-year term.
Most of Sarasota County’s constitutional officers were automatically reelected because they faced no opposition: Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Karen Rushing, Sheriff Kurt Hoffman, Property Appraiser Bill Furst, Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner, and Public Defender Larry Eger, and State Attorney Ed Brodsky.
Christian Casale covers local government for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Email him atccasale@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @vanityhack
