Candidates on the Ballot | 2020 State & Local Election

The ballot is set.

Qualifying for state and local races – including state House and Collier Board of County Commissioners – ended at noon on June 12. The weeklong qualifying period set the candidates for August and November.

Collier County voters will cast their ballots in several competitive races this year. Voters in Collier County Commission District 1 will have the opportunity to pick a new commissioner for the first time in more than a decade, after Commissioner Donna Fiala announced her retirement. Over in Commission District 5, Commissioner Bill McDaniel faces a primary challenge before facing off with a Democrat in November.

Look for the race to replace Rep. Byron Donalds in the Florida House to heat up, with three Republicans and one Democrat vying for the House District 80 seat.

Here’s a breakdown of what to expect when you head to the ballot box this year:
 

• Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Supervisor of Elections Jennifer Edwards can claim victory, after no other candidates qualified to run for office. Rambosk and Edwards weren’t the only ones celebrating when the qualifying period ended. Commissioner Burt Saunders, and Collier County School Board members Erick Carter and Stephanie Lucarelli were also unopposed, instantly winning their races. And Rob Stoneburner won his spot as Collier County Tax Collector, replacing outgoing Tax Collector Larry Ray, when no one qualified to run against him.

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• The Clerk of Courts and Comptroller race could be one to watch, after incumbent Crystal Kinzel fielded a challenger. Kinzel was elected in 2018 in a special election to replace former Clerk Dwight Brock. With two years of experience under her belt, Kinzel will face James Molenaar, the former general counsel for the Clerk’s office, in August.

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• The Collier Clerk race isn’t the only constitutional office on the 2020 ballot: Property Appraiser Abe Skinner will face Rick Lussy in the race for Collier Property Appraiser. The races for Clerk of Courts and Property Appraiser will be both on the August ballot, and will be open to all registered Collier voters, as there are no challengers from outside the Republican Party.

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• Three Republicans will face off for their party’s nomination in Collier County Commission District 1. Mark Batchelor, William Douglass and Rick LoCastro are vying to replace Commissioner Donna Fiala in the East Naples commission district. The winner of the Aug. 18 primary will face Democrat John Jenkins in the Nov. 3 election.

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• Commissioner Bill McDaniel will face Republican Mike Petscher in the Collier County Commission District 5 primary. The winner of the race will face Democrat David Turrubiartez Jr. and Raymond Christopher, a no party affiliation candidate, in November.

• A crowded field is battling to replace state Rep. Byron Donalds, who announced he was stepping down from the Florida House to run for Congress in District 19. Republicans Drew-Montez Clark, Victor Dotres and Lauren Melo will battle for their party’s nomination in the House District 80 primary. The winner will face Democrat Laura Novosad in the November general election.

• Registered voters in Florida House District 106 will see a familiar face off come November. State Rep. Bob Rommel will face Democrat Sara McFadden in the race for the coastal Collier County state House seat.

Florida is a closed primary state, which means only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their party’s primary. Several races on the ballot, such as the Clerk of Courts race, are considered “open” primaries, because no member of an opposing party or with no party affiliation qualified to run.

The deadline to register to vote is July 20 in the August primary election. Collier residents can visit www.CollierVotes.com for more information on how to update your voter information, including changing your party affiliation, or to request a vote-by-mail ballot.