CN&V projects Democrat Leroy Edwards as the winner of the Clay County Commission District 2 race.
Edwards leads Republican Lolita Smoak with 55.03% of the vote, according to preliminary results. The Clay County Supervisor of Elections website posted the results at 7:39 p.m.
Edwards has 9,262 votes. Smoak has 7,569. That is a lead of 1,693 votes.
The results are unofficial. They include all early votes and partial counts of mail ballots and Election Day votes.
How We Made The Call
All six District 2 precincts have reported. Countywide, officials are still counting some mail ballots and Election Day votes.
The results page showed 92,721 ballots cast countywide. Turnout figures as of 7 p.m. showed 93,676 voters. That leaves about 955 ballots that may not be counted yet.
District 2 makes up about 18% of the ballots counted so far. At that rate, about 175 of the remaining ballots would come from District 2.
Smoak trails by 1,693 votes. She could not close that gap even if every uncounted ballot in the county went to her.
Some late ballots may still be added, including provisional ballots. But the remaining number is far too small to change the outcome.
Other local news outlets have also called the race for Edwards.
A Big Swing From 2022
This was Edwards’ second run for the seat.
In 2022, he lost to Republican Alexandra Compere by 24 percentage points. Tonight he leads by about 10 points. That is a swing of roughly 34 points in four years.
Compere did not seek re-election this year. That left District 2 as an open seat.
Edwards won in a county where Republicans make up about 57% of registered voters. Democrats make up about 20%.
All five current commissioners are Republicans. Edwards would be the only Democrat on the board.
CN&V is working to confirm when a Democrat last won a seat on the Clay County Commission.
Other Clay County Results
These results are also preliminary, with 47 of 48 precincts reporting.
Amendment 3 (Homestead Exemption): Clay voters backed it with 65.43% voting Yes. The amendment needs 60% statewide to pass.
Commissioner Salary Charter Amendment: Voters rejected it, with 68.55% voting No.
School Millage Renewal: Voters approved it, with 77.57% voting Yes.
Countywide turnout stands at 59.71%, according to the Supervisor of Elections.
CN&V will update this story as final results come in.