In one of the more visible and aggressively advertised races of Tuesday’s primary, Aaron Bean defeated state Rep. Mike Weinstein to claim the Republican nod for the state Senate District 4 race.
Negative advertising through various media in recent weeks set it apart from many of the races on the ballot, but the results were not close.
Bean won the Republican primary garnering 30,685 votes compared to Weinstein’s 16,991, with all votes unofficial. That put Bean at a close to 2-1 advantage at 64.4 percent compared to Weinstein’s 35.6 percent.
Several area political pundits who talked to the Daily Record on Monday to preview the primary labeled the campaigns as “vicious” and atypical in the high levels of funds flowed into each campaign. Both had endorsements from heavy-hitting political groups.
Part of the reason is that the results could shape the state senate’s leadership, Matt Corrigan, University of North Florida Political Science and Public Administration chair, said Monday.
Bean served as a state representative from 2000-08 and Weinstein was elected state representative in 2008 and currently serves.
Bean will now face Democrat Nancy Soderberg, who ran unopposed in the primary, Nov. 6 for the senate seat.
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| Aaron Bean | 30,685 | (64.4%) |
| Mike Weinstein | 16,991 | (35.6%) |