Tuesday’s election results delivered substantial change and signaled a changing of the guard in Manatee and Sarasota politics.

That was especially prominent in Manatee County, where two Republican County Commissioners and a county constitutional officer lost re-election. That was inevitable in an at-large County Commission race pitting two incumbents against one another. George Kruse beat Kevin Van Ostenbridge with 58% of the vote in the Republican Primary. That was after Van Ostenbridge opted against running for his old district seat and spent a record $204,000 on the countywide race.

But voters also turned out Commissioner Raymond Turner, with challenger Bob McCann winning a Republican Primary with 54% in District 5. Meanwhile, Carol Van Felts won a District GOP Primary with 54% and Tal Siddique similarly won a Republican Primary with 61%, with the less well funded candidate winning in each seat. Voters also turned out Supervisor of Elections James Satcher in favor of Republican Primary challenger Scott Farrington.

In Sarasota County, the biggest loss for an incumbent was arguably School Board member Karen Rose. Challenger Liz Barker unseated her with just over 51% of the vote. Rose had been endorsed in the nonpartisan office by Gov. Ron DeSantis and selected as Board chair this year. But Tom Edwards, an incumbent backed by the Sarasota County Democratic Party, won a three-person nonpartisan race with nearly 56% of the vote. That means he will avoid a runoff in November. 

On the Sarasota County Commission, former Sheriff Tom Knight ousted Sarasota County Commissioner Neil Rainford in a Republican Primary with nearly 61% of the vote. Rainford had been appointed by DeSantis to the seat following the death of County Commissioner Nancy Detert, and he stood for election for the seat for the first time this cycle.

In the District 1 Sarasota County Commission race, Teresa Mast won a Republican Primary with more than 55% of the vote over Alexandra Coe.

In other important races, an anti-privatization slate of Sarasota County Public Hospital Board candidates easily won four Republican primaries in a closely watched race. Sharon Wetzler DePeters, Kevin Cooper, Pam Beitlich and Sarah Lodge each won their primaries with greater than 62% of the vote, and will advance to face Democrats in November.

In Manatee, there will be runoffs for two School Board seats. Heather Felton and Mark Stanoch will advance to a District 1 runoff, while Charlie Kennedy and Jon Lynch do the same in District 3.

In legislative races, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan won a Republican Primary with 61% over challenger Eddie Speir, and will now face Jan Schneider, winner of a Democratic Primary, in November. State Rep. James Buchanan, meanwhile, conquered a Primary challenge as well with almost 74% of the vote over challenger Michelle Pozzie.

The area’s one open legislative seat was in House District 72, where Bill Conerly won a Republican Primary with about 31%, beating Rich Tatem’s 28%, Alyssa Gay’s 22% and Richard Green’s 18%.