With less than two hours of voting to go Tuesday afternoon, Brian Hughes was a little concerned.
The normally confident consultant was facing something that was unexpected: a Republican edge in the number of voters who were turning out in Duval County, many of whom hadn’t been to the polls in a while.
That could have been trouble for Duval County Referendum No. 1, which would allow slot machines in pari-mutuel facilities. The referendum Hughes and his frequent campaign partner, Tim Baker, were hired to get approved.
Hughes, of Meteoric Media Strategies, and Baker, of Data Targeting, were focusing their efforts on that small wedge of people between the hard no votes and the absolute yeses.
Typically, Hughes said, young people, minorities, Democrats and no party affiliation voters are more likely to support gaming initiatives.
Not Republicans. So the influx of GOP voters was a bit concerning.
Less than three hours later, Hughes saw his concern was for naught.
The referendum passed overwhelmingly by nearly 34,500 votes, swept in through strong margins in both early voting and on Election Day.
Hughes’ well-known confidence returned.
“That’s a substantial victory,” he said of the “decisive message” from voters.
The turnout was different than expected, Hughes said, but the result was what he and Baker had worked toward.
They didn’t face organized opposition, nor did they expect to, despite the fact that an expansion of gambling in a conservative area can be controversial.
But, Hughes said statewide anti-gaming groups generally do their work in courtrooms and through lobbying in the legislative world.
Hughes said the language for the referendum was “constructed very specifically.”
He said it reinforces the regulatory burden on the company and makes it clear the machines can only be in bestbet in Arlington and that users have to be 21, although state law says it’s 18. Bestbet currently offers poker games and simulcasts of greyhound racing.
Hughes said he and Baker knew the effort was going to be a six-week campaign after the August primary — the first two weeks for a ground analysis, followed by a four-week push of advertising.
Several bestbet employees were featured in the advertising campaign. They shared their stories in a series of commercials about working for the company, making good wages and building a career.
Hughes said the employees were not paid to do the commercials and the response from volunteers was huge. “There were many more people that offered to assist than I could have used in a yearlong campaign,” he said.
The company employs about 650 workers between the Jacksonville and Orange Park facilities, he said. There’s also indirect employees, through services such as maintenance and security.
The slot machine issue still faces a big hurdle as the Florida Supreme Court considers a case filed by Gretna Racing in Gadsden County.
State officials say only the Legislature can decide to allow slot machines and where they go.
Gretna Racing contends Florida law allows counties to let voters decide on the issue through a referendum.
The Jacksonville City Council voted 18-1 to let the issue be put on the ballot. Council member Doyle Carter was the sole dissenter.
The city will receive 1.5 percent of the slots’ gross revenue, which an earlier economic impact report estimated at $5.7 million a year.
The report said the addition of up to 2,000 slot machines would add 1,500 direct jobs, 1,300 indirect jobs and an annual payroll of $123 million.
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