When the dust settled Friday on the political drama of an all-day election recount, the result of the cliffhanger race between Jay Fant and Paul Renner boiled down to this.
In a primary election that most people sat out, Fant won because two more people voted for him than Renner among those who did make their voices known at the ballot box.
Fant emerged victorious with 5,962 votes in the Florida House District 15 contest. Renner finished agonizingly close with 5,960 votes, the closest local election that Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland could remember.
If that didn’t drive home the meaning of the mantra that every vote counts, there also was a neck-and-neck contest for the Duval County School Board District 2.
After a recount in that race, Sam Hall finished a mere four votes ahead of Theresa Graham. He therefore finished second in the multi-candidate field and will move on to a runoff election against Scott Shine, the top vote-getter.
Fant won the Republican Party nomination for House District 15, which covers Jacksonville’s Westside. No Democrats filed for the seat, so Fant will be the favorite to win in November against two write-in candidates.
Entire Article: .pdf | The Florida Times Union