Rick Patrick - Greene Publishing, Inc.
Trump carries Madison County
Madison County followed the nationwide trend when it came to voting for President. Out of the 8,599 votes cast in Madison County, Donald Trump received 4,859 or almost 57 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton received 3,526 votes or just over 41 percent. Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson received 95 votes in Madison County; Constitution Party candidate, Darrell Castle received eight votes; Green Party candidate, Jill Stein received 22 votes; Independent candidate, Rocky DeLaFuente received three votes locally.
Statewide, the results were much closer between the two major party candidates. Trump carried the State of Florida along with its 29 electoral votes with 4,605,145 or 49 percent of the votes. Clinton received 4,485,359 or 48 percent of the votes in the State of Florida.
On the national level, Trump received 279 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the Presidency, with 31 electoral votes still available as of press time.
Tommy Hardee wins re-election
Incumbent Tommy Hardee has handily won re-election to the Madison County Supervisor of Elections office by a nearly two to one margin over challenger Jada Woods Williams. Williams had once held the office until she was replaced amidst charges of corruption. Those charges were later dropped. Hardee received 5,581 votes to Williams’ 2,747 votes.
Karen Pickles wins Superintendent
In a crowded field, current School Board member Karen Pickles won the Madison County Superintendent of Schools race. Pickles left her seat on the Madison County School Board in order to pursue the Superintendent of Schools position. Pickles received 4,362 votes, Marcus Hawkins, Sr. received 3,062 votes, Gwendolyn Hubbard received 820 votes, and Jeffrey Veilleux received 157 votes.
Billy Washington wins Clerk of Court
In a crowded race for the office of Madison County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, Billy Washington has won the office long held by Tim Sanders. Sanders did not run for re-election for this office. Washington received 2,886 votes, Kel Putnal received 2,064 votes, Renetta Warren Parrish received 1,778 votes, and Cody Tuten received 1,668 votes.
Alston Kelley wins District 1
Alston Kelley has won the District 1 County Commission seat. Kelley unseats incumbent Justin Hamrick. Kelley received 614 votes, challenger Marvin “Merv” Mattair received 538 votes, and incumbent Justin Hamrick received 436 votes.
Rick Davis wins re-election
Rick Davis has won re-election to his District 5 Madison County Commission seat. Davis won with just over 50 percent of the vote with 1,195 votes. Challenger Nancy Moral received 620 votes and Adrian “A.D.” Kinsey received 385 votes.
Al Lawson carries Madison County in House seat race
Democrat Al Lawson carried the Madison County vote in the House of Representatives seat for Congressional District 5. Locally, Lawson received 4,153 votes to Republican challenger Glo Smith’s 4,052 votes. Across the district, the results were not as close. Across the district, Lawson won 64 percent of the vote with 193,430 total votes. Smith garnered 36 percent of the vote with 107,784 total votes.
While this seat stays firmly in Democrat hands, the Republicans still control a majority of the seats in Congress.
Democrat Bill Montford holds State Senate seat
Democrat incumbent State Senator Bill Montford has won re-election to his District 3 State Senate seat. Montford held off a challenge from Republican Nancy Miller. In Madison County, Montford received a clear majority with a total of 4,593 votes. Miller received 3,672 votes in Madison County. Across the district, Montford received just over 67 percent of the vote at 159,121 total votes. Miller received nearly 33 percent of the vote with 77,134 total votes.
Amendment 1 fails to get enough votes for passage
Constitutional Amendment 1, dealing with rights of electricity consumers regarding solar energy choice failed to get the 60 percent majority needed for passage. Locally, 4,834 voters voted for the amendment while 3,336 locals voted against. Statewide, there were 4,546,856 votes in favor of the amendment, or 50.78 percent of the vote. A total of 4,407,988 Floridians voted against the amendment.
Constitutional Amendment 2 passes
Constitutional Amendment 2, which allows for the medicinal use of marijuana, passed overwhelmingly across the state. Locally there were 4,982 votes for the amendment and 3,258 votes against. Statewide there were 6,498,859 votes in favor of the amendment. This accounts for just over 71 percent of the vote, well over the 60 percent needed for passage. Statewide, there were 2,616,916 votes against the measure.
Constitutional Amendment 3 passes
Constitutional Amendment 3 which allows for a tax exemption for permanently or totally disabled first responders was approved by Florida voters. Locally, 6,543 voters voted to approve the amendment, 1,600 voters voted against. Statewide, there were 7,475,529 or nearly 84 percent of the vote in favor of the amendment. This was well over the 60 percent needed for passage of the amendment. Statewide, there were 1,448,201 votes against the amendment.
Constitutional Amendment 5 passes
Constitutional Amendment 5 was passed by Florida voters. This amendment would allow homestead tax exemptions for certain senior, low income, long term residents. Locally, 6,112 voters voted in favor of the measure while 1,995 voted against. Across the state, there were 6,873,646 votes in favor of the amendment. This figure accounted for just over 78 percent of the vote; enough for passage of the amendment. Statewide, there were 1,905,775 votes against the amendment.