Joel EngelhardtKaren Brill and Edwin Ferguson reelected to School Board but voters will have plenty of choices from U.S. Senate and governor down to local boards such as the Port of Palm Beach. Here’s who is running.
The ballot is set for the 2026 midterms in Florida, from U.S. Senate and governor to local races for County Commission and School Board.
While most of the races are competitive, two Palm Beach County School Board members won reelection without a vote being cast.
Karen Brill, the board’s chair, and Edwin Ferguson, a Riviera Beach lawyer, were reelected without opposition, among the few local races decided at the noon Friday close of qualifying.
As state lawmakers encourage the expansion of charter and private schools and traditional public school enrollment drops, both saw their victories as recognition for the work they are doing.
Brill has served since 2010 and is entering her final four-year term as she is subject to term limits. She said she never thought she would serve this long.
“I’m humbled by the fact that I think the community recognizes my commitment,” she said. “I’m very grateful. It’s a great honor to be able to continue.”
Ferguson, a first-term board member who drew attention in September for his comments defending the right of people to speak freely about Charlie Kirk after the conservative activist’s murder in Utah, said it didn’t distract from his work on the board.
He said he’s ready to push back in his second term on state laws that weaken traditional public education. The fact that no one opposed him in the predominantly Black District 7 reflects support for the job he’s doing, he said.
“I hope to be even more effective in my second term advocating for our children,” he said.
Two open School Board seats are hotly contested with four candidates running in District 4 and three for District 6.
In the coastal south county District 4, voters will replace Erica Whitfield, who is running for County Commission. The candidates are Tiffany Bryant, Dr. Anthony Hamlet, Christina Romelus and Daniel Zapata.
In District 6, which covers the western half of the county, former Wellington Council Member John McGovern faces Widline Pierre and Wanda Rosario-Schoenfeld. They are running to replace Marcia Andrews, who chose not to seek reelection after 16 years on the board.
School board races are nonpartisan and will be decided in the Aug. 18 primary if any candidate gets more than 50% of the vote. If not, the top two finishers will face off in the Nov. 3 election.
Palm Beach County Commission
The sole open seat on the Palm Beach County Commission, that of term-limited Gregg Weiss in District 2, drew two Democrats and no Republican candidates. So the primary will be decisive. School Board member Erica Whitfield is running against Teresa M. Johnson for the $114,000-a-year job.
District 4 County Commissioner Marci Woodward, a south county Republican, has a challenge from Democrat Curtis Calabrese that will go on the November ballot.
District 6 incumbent Sara Baxter, who announced Monday she would run for Congress but then changed her mind, faces Elizabeth Accomando, president of the Indian Trail Improvement District in August. Three Democrats — former state Rep. Katherine Waldron, Mario Guzman and Rudolph Tinker — will face off in August as well with the winners advancing to the Nov. 3 election.
Top of the ticket
Seven people are running for a six-year term in the U.S. Senate, including incumbent Ashley Moody, who will have a primary challenge from Chris Gleason, Neelam Taneja Perry and Ernest Rivera. On the Democratic side, former National Security Council official Alex Vindman faces Angie Nixon.
The Florida governor’s race, with Ron DeSantis forced out by term limits, drew 28 candidates including 11 Republicans and six Democrats. Among frontrunners: Southwest Florida Republican U.S. Rep Byron Donalds and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. On the Democratic side, former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly is running. See the list of candidates here.
Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, will face a challenge from Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez in November.
Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia will face off in a primary with Frank William Collige. Former Miami-Dade County state Sen. Annette Taddeo will face Earle Ford in the Democratic primary.
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson has a primary against Matt Taylor. Donald Prichard and Joey Mendoza Atkins are facing off on the Democratic side.
Congress
Court rulings allowing newly drawn congressional districts to play out led to a last-minute scramble by candidates to find the best place to run. Candidates must live in the state but there’s no requirement they live in the district.
Longtime Democratic U.S. House member Lois Frankel opted to run in the Democratic-leaning District 23, a coastal Palm Beach County district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Her November opponent in the past two elections, Republican Dan Franzese, is not going to appear on a ballot against her. He jumped into the District 25 seat that drew nine candidates, including U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat.
Manalapan-based billionaire Dr. Herbert “Herbie” Wertheim, a Republican, who had announced plans to run before the districts were redrawn, yanked his red fedora and $2.5 million loan out of the race, choosing not to challenge Frankel in the new district.
Instead, Frankel faces a primary challenge from Victoria Doyle and Mark Piper. Deborah Adeimy, who has run in the past two Republican primaries to challenge Frankel but lost to Franzese, faces Paola Branda in the Republican primary.
Broward-Palm Beach District 20, which has had no representation since the forced April 21 resignation of Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, drew five Democrats, including Cherfilus-McCormick, and three Republicans.
Longtime Broward powerhouse and incumbent Debbie Wasserman Schultz is running in the predominantly Black district against former rapper Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, former Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, Elijah Manley and Cherfilus-McCormick.
Republican voters can choose from Rod Joseph, Lateresa Jones and Brent Andersen.
The Republican-leaning, cross-state District 22 drew initial interest from County Commissioner Sara Baxter before she opted to seek a second term on the County Commission.
But the Republican-leaning district, which takes in a chunk of Broward and Palm Beach counties before reaching across the state through Collier County to Marco Island, drew seven Republicans and two Democrats.
The Republicans are Casey Askar, David Burck, Michael Carbonara, Terri Hasdorff, Belinda Keiser, Michael Thompson and Richard Evans.
The Democrats are Pia Dandiya, who dropped plans to run in U.S. Rep. Brian Mast’s District 21, and Kaysia Earley.
Mast drew no Republican challenge in the Martin-St. Lucie-Palm Beach District 21. Democrats James Martin and Bernard Taylor will face off in the August primary, and former Juno Beach Mayor Alexander Cooke, running without party affiliation, will join the winner on the November ballot.
In District 25, Moskowitz faces a primary challenge against Oliver Adams Larkin.
Five Republicans will vie to oppose the winner in November: Franzese, Raven Harrison, Joseph Kaufman, George Moraitis and former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer.
Florida Senate
In three Florida Senate districts covering parts of Palm Beach County, just one race will be subjected to a primary, District 30, in which two Republicans — Jerusa Zitta and Hector Rivera — will vie to challenge Democratic former state Sen. Lauren Book. Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky is not seeking reelection for the Palm Beach-Broward seat.
In Florida Senate District 24, in central Palm Beach County, Democratic incumbent Mack Bernard will be challenged by Republican Jackie Green.
In south county District 26, where Democratic Sen. Lori Berman is term-limited, former Republican state House member Rick Roth will take on state Rep. David Silvers.
Florida House
Nine state House seats touch on Palm Beach County.
In District 86, which includes parts of northeast Jupiter, incumbent Republican John Snyder faces Democrat Elizabeth Brendel Pandich.
In north county District 87, Emily Gregory, who won a special election in March to fill the seat vacated by Republican Mike Caruso when he became county clerk and comptroller, will await the outcome of a Republican primary between Jon Maples and Jonathan Rubin.
In centrally based mid-to-north county District 88, incumbent Democrat Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds faces Republican William Joseph in November.
In centrally based mid-to-south county District 89, incumbent Democrat Debra Tendrich faces the winner of the Republican primary pitting Jeff Buongiorno against Cathy Higgins.
In Boynton-Delray based District 90, incumbent Democrat Rob Long faces Republican Ionel Roiban in November.
Two Democrats are vying to unseat Republican state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman in the Boca-based District 91. They are Luis Garcia and Alexander Lambridis.
Incumbent Democrat Kelly Skidmore, also in south county, will square off in District 92 with the winner of the Republican primary between Steve Byers and Stephen Iacullo.
In District 93, which covers a west-central portion of the county south of Southern Boulevard, incumbent Republican Anne Gerwig faces Democrat August Mangeney in November.
In District 94, which covers a west-central portion of the county north of Southern Boulevard, incumbent Republican Meg Weinberger faces Democrat Elizabeth Holmes and no party affiliated Doug Barrow in November.
More county races
Clerk and Comptroller Michael Caruso, a former state House member appointed to the post by Gov. Ron DeSantis, faces a challenge from Democratic Boca Raton Council Member Yvette Drucker.
Port of Palm Beach incumbent Blair Ciklin, who is closing in on 50 years as a port commissioner, is seeking reelection in Group 4 as a Democrat against fellow Democrats Serge d’Haiti and Brian Lamb.
Port incumbent Deandre Poole, a Democrat, has a Group 5 primary challenge from Taniel Koushakjian. The winner will face Republican Ted Sarandis in November.
Three nonpartisan seats are on the ballot for the Indian Trail Improvement District, which manages drainage and roads and assesses fees in The Acreage.
In District 1, Kirk Allen Ljongquist faces Jay Sweet.
In District 3, Jack Lloyd Bell faces Patricia Alice Farrell and Carol Jacobs.
In District 5, Michael Timothy Johnson faces Christopher Charles Karch.
See the state’s list of qualified candidates here.
See the county’s list of qualified candidates here.
