State lawmakers don’t always fade into obscurity when they leave Tallahassee. Many find a second life, if voters are willing, in local political posts.
That was the case in Tuesday’s primary elections, when numerous current and former lawmakers tried to extend their political lives. Some were successful, and some weren’t.
Outgoing Sen. Alan Hays, a Umatilla Republican and dentist, eked out a 270-vote victory in a three-way Republican primary for the Lake County supervisor of elections job. Hays will face a Democrat and a no-party candidate in November, but is in a strong position to win the job in the GOP-leaning county.
“I am very honored and humbled by the expression of confidence by the voters of Lake County,” Hays said in a Facebook post.
Hays will likely join another former state senator who holds a constitutional officer’s post in Lake, as Carey Baker has already won re-election without opposition as the county property appraiser.
Term-limited state Rep. Alan Williams, a Tallahassee Democrat, came up short Tuesday in his bid for Leon County supervisor of elections. But since it is a nonpartisan post, Williams qualified for a general-election runoff in November by getting 39 percent of the vote. He will face Mark Earley, who had 49.2 percent of the vote, just short of the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff.
Some lawmakers, meanwhile, experienced electoral setbacks.
Outgoing state Rep. Dwight Dudley, a St. Petersburg Democrat and attorney, came up 1,200 votes short in a bid for a Pinellas County judgeship, although his loss margin represented less than 1 percent of the total vote.
Also in Pinellas, former state Rep. James Frishe, a St. Petersburg Republican who left the Legislature in 2012, lost in a primary to become county property appraiser.
In Northeast Florida, term-limited Rep. Janet Adkins, a Fernandina Beach Republican, lost by a 68-32 percent margin in her bid to become Nassau County superintendent of schools.
In Miami-Dade County, former Rep. Yolly Roberson, a Miami Democrat who was the first Haitian-American woman elected to the Legislature, came up short in her bid for a circuit judgeship. Roberson, a lawyer, left the Legislature in 2010.
Former state Sen. Jim Norman, a Tampa Republican, failed in his bid to return to the Hillsborough County Commission, where he served 18 years before his election to the Senate in 2010. Norman left the Senate in 2012.
It was two out of three Tuesday for a trio of Palm Beach County politicians who served in the state House.
Outgoing Rep. Dave Kerner, a Lake Worth Democrat and lawyer, coasted to a county commission seat with 69 percent of the vote. He faces a no-party candidate in November.
But in another county commission race, one former House member’s success came at the expense of a former colleague. Mack Bernard, a Delray Beach Democrat who lost a state Senate race in 2012, edged out Priscilla Taylor, a West Palm Beach Democrat who was seeking re-election to her commission seat after serving in the House.
Two former state senators and a current member vied Tuesday for seats on the Broward County Commission.
Former Sens. Steve Geller, a Cooper City Democrat and lawyer, and Nan Rich, a Weston Democrat and candidate for governor in 2014, won their commission primaries easily. Geller, who left the Legislature in 2008 and previously ran unsuccessfully for the Broward commission, faces a Republican opponent in November.
But term-limited Sen. Chris Smith, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, lost by less than 400 votes in his Broward commission bid.
Former Rep. Tim Ryan, a Dania Beach Democrat, is already a member of the Broward commission and won re-election this year without opposition. Also, former House member Marty Kiar, a Davie Democrat who was a Broward commissioner after leaving the Legislature, won election as the county’s property appraiser when he qualified without facing opposition earlier this year.
It was a similar scenario for outgoing state Sen. Nancy Detert, a Venice Republican who won election to the Sarasota County Commission when she qualified without opposition in June.
Two former state senators also were successful Tuesday in county commission primary bids in Southwest Florida.
Former Sen. Burt Saunders, a Naples Republican and lawyer, is seeking to return to the Collier County Commission where he had served before his election to the state House and then the Senate, which he left in 2008. After his primary win Tuesday, Saunders faces a Democrat in November.
Also, former Sen. Frank Mann, a Fort Myers Republican who ran as the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in 1986, won the primary election for his seat on the Lee County Commission. He faces a Democratic challenger in November.