The votes have been counted in Pinellas County, but not without a minor problem at the start of the evening.
When polls closed at 7pm, the county posted early and mail in votes, but after that, the numbers stopped. According to Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark, a problem with the modem kept numbers from coming in electronically from voting precincts around the county. The memory sticks that held the results had to be driven in from each polling place.
Around 8 p.m., the numbers started to be tallied.
One of the first winners of the night in Pinellas County was Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. The sheriff defeated former Sheriff Everett Rice, who conceded the race shortly after 8:30 p.m.
During his victory speech, Gualtieri said voters had a choice.
“The choice was about the future or the past. Did you want to stay in yesteryear or move forward in the future. Moving forward is what we need to do and what we’re going to do," he said.
Gualtieri will face Democrat Scott Swope in the November general election.
Ken Welch will keep his county commission seat.
Run-offs in school board races
Some Pinellas County races were not settled Tuesday night. The two school board races that were contested will be going to a run-off.
Janet Clark and Elliott Stern will face off again in November for the District 1 school board seat.
In District 7, Rene Flowers and Glen Gilzean will meet again in the general election.
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Sheriff (R)
- Bob Gualtieri - 57%
- Everett Rice - 43%
County Commission - District 7 (D)
- Ken Welch - 68%
- Maria Scruggs - 32%
School Board - District 1
- Janet Clark - 35%
- Elliott Stern - 26%
- Shelly Ladd-Gilbert - 21%
- Jim Jackson - 18%
School Board - District 7
- Rene Flowers - 47%
- Glen Gilzean - 15%
- Corey Givens Jr. - 14%
- Cassandra Jackson - 13%
- Keisha Bell - 10%
Judge - County Court 2
- Cathy Ann McKyton - 68%
- Scott Andringa - 32%
For additional results, visit the Supervisor of Elections website.