Results from Tuesday’s special election shows changing trend with Jacksonville voters

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Voter turnout was astir 12.6%

Tuesday was predetermination time successful a peculiar predetermination for the Jacksonville City Council At-Large Group 3 seat. (WJXT)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4JAX is taking a person look astatine Tuesday’s predetermination results for the precocious Tommy Hazouri’s City Council seat.

There volition beryllium a runoff betwixt Republican Nick Howland and Democrat Tracye Polson for the At-Large Group 3 seat.

The voters didn’t amusement up successful force. In fact, determination was astir a 12.6% turnout during the peculiar election, but governmental analysts say the tiny fig indicates what we tin expect to spot successful Jacksonville successful aboriginal elections.

In fact, erstwhile each the ballots were counted, 36,933 Democrats voted, and 36,861 Republicans voted. That’s lone a 68-vote quality betwixt the parties.

Democrats showed up beardown successful aboriginal voting, and Republicans showed up precise beardown connected predetermination day.

News4JAX governmental expert Rick Mullaney, of Jacksonville University’s Public Policy Institute, says that is existent with nationalist and authorities trends. Mullaney says it’s besides showing america thing antithetic successful Jacksonville.

“The debased turnout, conscionable implicit 12%, is hard to extrapolate excessively overmuch from that. But successful the past, debased turnout has favored the Republicans successful elections. This time, not truthful much, truthful it sets up a precise absorbing contention for February,” Mullaney said.

He adds that the upcoming contention betwixt Howland and Polson is going to travel down to 1 thing: elector turnout — who really gets the ballot out.

“The closeness of this contention is accordant with Duval County going purple and trending blue. We saw that happened successful 2018 with the statewide races for politician and U.S. Senate,” Mullaney said. “We intelligibly saw it successful 2021. Joe Biden, the archetypal clip since 1976 that a Democrat got much votes present successful the presidency, and present we’re seeing it successful this section race.”

And the result in this peculiar predetermination runoff connected Feb. 22 could awesome what we could spot hap successful Jacksonville during the gubernatorial elections adjacent twelvemonth and the metropolis predetermination successful 2023.