Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott’s office qualified 37 candidates by June 22, the deadline of Qualifying Week, to seek seats on the County Commission, the School Board, the Florida Senate, the Florida House and the contested County Judge Group 5.
Of the total, the following 19 candidates will appear on ballots in the Melbourne Beachsider’s coverage area, from the Pineda Causeway south to the Sebastian Inlet:
State Rep. Thad Altman (R-Melbourne) will face a GOP challenge for House District 52 from Matt Nye in the Aug. 28 primary, with the winner going against Democrat Seeta Durjan Begui in the Nov. 6 general election. The barrier island part of the district runs from the Satellite Beach area south to the Melbourne Beach area.
State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) will be waiting in the House District 53 general election after Democrats Phil Moore and FiorD’Aliza Frias square off in their primary. The district’s portion of the barrier island includes everything south of Melbourne Beach.
County Commission District 4 incumbent Curt Smith will be facing a primary challenge in August from fellow Republican Trudie Infantini, with the winner going against Democrat Matthew Fleming and write-in candidate Richard Charbonneau in the general election. This district includes the barrier island area of Satellite Beach and Indian Harbor Beach.
Brevard County Group 5 Judge Steve Koons’ pending retirement leaves attorneys Katie Jacobus, Rodney Kernan and Anthony Mechachonis to compete in a nonpartisan countywide race on Aug. 28. If nobody gets a majority vote, the race goes to the general election.