Read before you vote: Candidates for the Aug. 23 primary elections in South Florida
Election season is back, South Florida. Early voting centers are set to open soon ahead of Florida’s Aug. 23 primary election and hundreds of thousands of vote-by-mail ballots are already sitting on kitchen tables.
For the uninitiated, this is the election in which voters mostly choose judges and nominees to represent their political party on the November ballot in contests for statewide office and for House and Senate at the state and federal levels. So, voters won’t be asked to choose their next governor, but Democrats will be asked to choose who will spend the next couple months campaigning against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Florida is a “closed” primary state, meaning registered Democrats vote in Democratic primary contests, registered Republicans vote in races featuring Republican candidates, and so on. That means Republican voters will be voting on a different ballot than Democratic voters, and the same goes for voters who have no party affiliation.
There are exceptions: Some legislative races will be open to all voters and decided outright this month because all the candidates on the ballot come from one political party. And some voters in specific neighborhoods will also see non-partisan local contests and referenda on their ballot, regardless of their political party.
But this election in many ways sets the table for the election on Nov. 8.
Read on to learn more about the major candidates, races and referenda on the ballot in Miami-Dade and Broward.
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REGISTERED REPUBLICANS ONLY
Representative in Congress, District 24
Jesus G. Navarro
Lavern Spicer
Representative in Congress, District 25
Carla Spalding
Rubin Young
Representative in Congress, District 26
Darren Aquino
Mario Diaz-Balart
Representative in Congress, District 27
Frank Polo
María Elvira Salazar
Representative in Congress, District 28
Carlos Garin
Carlos A. Gimenez
Karl “KW” Miller
Commissioner of Agriculture
James W. Shaw
Wilton Simpson
State Senator, District 34
Pitchie “Peachy” Escarment
Erhabor Ighodaro
Shevrin “Shev” Jones
READ NEXT: What to know about South Florida’s state House and Senate races on the Aug. 23 ballot
State Representative, District 106
Fabián Basabe
Douglas John Ross
Lynn Su Sutjapojnukul
State Representative, District 108
Michael A. Etienne
Roy Hardemon
Dotie Joseph
State Representative, District 109
James Bush III
Ashley V. Gantt
State Representative, District 113
Vicki Lopez
Alberto Perosch
State Representative, District 118
Juan Fernandez-Barquin
Francisco Rodriguez
Daniel Sotelo
State Representative, District 119
Ashley Alvarez
Rob Gonzalez
Juan Carlos Porras
Jose Soto
Ricky Tsay
State Representative, District 120
Robert Scott Allen
Rhonda Rebman Lopez
James “Jim” V. Mooney Jr
REGISTERED DEMOCRATS ONLY
United States Senator
Ricardo De La Fuente
Val Demings
Brian Rush
William Sanchez
READ NEXT: There’s a crowd of 15 running for Congress in Broward/Palm Beach district
Representative in Congress, District 24
Kevin C. Harris
Frederica Wilson
Representative in Congress, District 25
Robert Millwee
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Representative in Congress, District 27
Angel Montalvo
Ken Russell
Annette Taddeo
Representative in Congress, District 28
Robert Asencio
Juan Paredes
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Cadance Daniel
Robert L. Willis
READ MORE: Who are all these other people running for governor of Florida?
Attorney General
Aramis Ayala
Jim Lewis
Daniel Uhlfelder
Commissioner of Agriculture
Naomi Esther Blemur
J. R. Gaillot
Ryan Morales
READ NEXT: What to know about South Florida’s state House and Senate races on the Aug. 23 ballot
State Senator, District 34
Pitchie “Peachy” Escarment
Erhabor Ighodaro
Shevrin “Shev” Jones
State Representative, District 106
Jordan W. Leonard
Gustavo Ortega
State Representative, District 107
Christopher Benjamin
Wancito Francius
State Representative, District 108
Michael A. Etienne
Roy Hardemon
Dotie Joseph
State Representative, District 109
James Bush III
Ashley V. Gantt
State Representative, District 113
Andrés Althabe
Alessandro “A.J.” D’Amico
State Representative, District 119
James A. Cueva
Gabriel Gonzalez
State Representative, District 120
Adam Gentle
Daniel “Dan” Horton-Diaz
NONPARTISAN (ALL VOTERS)
State Senator, District 34
Pitchie “Peachy” Escarment
Erhabor Ighodaro
Shevrin “Shev” Jones
State Senator, District 35
Lauren Book
Barbara Sharief
State Representative, District 108
Michael A. Etienne
Roy Hardemon
Dotie Joseph
State Representative, District 109
James Bush III
Ashley V. Gantt
Circuit Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit, Group 3
Teressa Maria Cervera
Lody Jean
Circuit Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit, Group 20
Brenda Guerrero
Robert Watson
Circuit Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit, Group 34
Mark Blumstein
Ariel Rodriguez
Circuit Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit, Group 52
Jason Edward Bloch
Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts
Circuit Judge, 17th Judicial Circuit, Group 9
Lauren Melissa Alperstein
Andrea Ruth Gundersen
Circuit Judge, 17th Judicial Circuit, Group 14
Alejandro “Alex” Arreaza
William W. “Bill” Haury Jr
Circuit Judge, 17th Judicial Circuit, Group 23
Gary M. Farmer Jr
Rhoda Sokoloff
Tania Maria Williams
Circuit Judge, 17th Judicial Circuit, Group 51
Tamar N. Hamilton
Denise Kistner
Lorena Mastrarrigo
Miami-Dade County Judge, Group 5
Renier Diaz de la Portilla
Fred Seraphin
Miami-Dade County Judge, Group 19
Lissette De La Rosa
Jeffrey Kolokoff
Miami-Dade County Judge, Group 42
Alicia Garcia Priovolos
Scott Janowitz
Broward County Court Judge, Group 15
Michael G. Ahearn
Chris Marion Brown
Suzette O. Hyde
Broward County Court Judge, Group 26
Mardi Anne Levey Cohen
Kaysia Monica Earley
Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 2
Wallace Aristide
Monique Barley-Mayo
Marleine Bastien
Philippe Bien-Aime
Joe Celestin
William DC Clark
READ MORE: Four Haitian Americans running in Miami-Dade election, raising worries of a split vote
Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 6
Kevin Marino Cabrera
Dariel Fernandez
Jorge Fors
Victor Vazquez
Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 8
Alicia Arellano
Karen Baez-Wallis
Danielle Cohen Higgins
Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 10
Martha Bueno
Susan Khoury
Anthony Rodriguez
Julio C. Sanchez
Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 12
Juan Carlos “JC” Bermudez
Sophia Lacayo
Miami-Dade School Board Member, District 2
Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall
La-Shanda West
Miami-Dade School Board Member, District 4
Roberto J. Alonso
Maribel Balbin
Kevin Menendez Macki
Miami-Dade School Board Member, District 6
Sandra Manzieri
Maria Teresa “Mari Tere” Rojas
Miami-Dade School Board Member, District 8
Monica Colucci
Marta Perez
Broward School Board, District 1
Marie Murray Martin
Rodney “Rod” Velez
Paul Wiggins
Broward School Board, District 4
Lori Alhadeff
Kimberly Coward
Broward School Board, District 5
Antonio Burgess
Ruth Carter-Lynch
Clifford Coach Sr.
Jeff Holness
Gloria Ann Lewis
Nathalie Lynch-Walsh
Jimmy Witherspoon
Broward School Board, District 6
Chris Canter
Brenda Fam
Steven R. Julian
Merick Lewin
Broward School Board, District 7
Merceydes Morassi
Nora Rupert
Broward School Board, At Large, Seat 8
Raymond E. Adderly III
Mourice “Mo” Hylton
Donna Pilger Korn
Allen Zeman
Broward School Board Ballot Question
Funding School Safety and Essential Educational Related Expenditures through a One Mill Property Tax Levy
Golden Beach Referendum
- Bond referendum to construct Wellness Center and other Capital Improvements
Key Biscayne Mayor
Fausto B. Gomez
Katie Petros
Jose I. “Joe” Rasco
Miami Referendum
Proposed Amendment to Riverside Wharf lease on City’s waterfront property on the River
Miami Beach Referendum 1
Naming Park Between Alton Road/West Avenue, From Sixth to Eighth Street as “Canopy Park”
Miami Beach Referendum 2
RSA Article I: Board of Adjustment - Changing “Architecture” Membership Category from Permissible to Required Membership
Miami Beach Referendum 3
Charter Section 6.03: Creating Additional Qualification Requirement for City Commission Candidates: Proof of Residency Documents
Miami Beach Referendum 4
RPS1 District / RPS2 District FAR Incentive to Convert Remaining Apartment Hotel Uses to Residential Use
Miami Beach Referendum 5
Alton Road Gateway Area Increase Maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from 2.0 to 2.6
Miami Beach Referendum 6
Charter Section 1.03(c): Voter Approval to Aggregate Floor Area When Vacating Streets/Conveying Public Property
Miami Gardens, Residential Area Council Member, Seat 2
Raymond Carvil
Lisa C. Davis
Reginald Leon
Miami Gardens, Residential Area Council Member, Seat 4
Mykita Cherry-Prime
Wiren “Chuck” Norris
Katrina Wilson
Miami Gardens, Residential Area Council Member, Seat 6
Robert Stephens
André Williams
Miami Gardens Referendum
Amending Residential Areas by Ordinance
This story was originally published August 3, 2022 at 4:00 AM.