ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Johns County has more voters than it’s ever had because of its booming population, but there are a number of races this election season that are already decided.
Like other counties across the state, it’s gearing up for the August 20th primary.
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes said. She has worked in the elections office for 36 years.
This year, she’s noticed that there is a large number of uncontested races. They are the races where there is only one candidate. There are 25 single candidate races in St. Johns County this year, not counting the CDD races.
“None of our judicial races are contested this year," Oaks said. "So they would not be on the ballot."
Also, no one is running against 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Public Defender Matthew Metz of the 7th Judicial Circuit, Property Appraiser Eddie Creamer, Tax Collector Jenefer Pomar Ravan, and even Elections Supervisor Vicky Oakes. All those races have been decided.
A number of contests in St. Augustine and the City of St. Augustine Beach are also uncontested. That includes the St. Augustine mayor’s seat, held by Nancy Sike-Kline.
So why are there so many races with only one candidate?
“I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of the political climate today," Oakes said. "Good people just maybe are a little hesitant about stepping out to run for office because they don’t want to put themselves and their families out there to be involved in some of the political ugliness that happens during this time.”
In Duval and Putnam Counties, the elections supervisors say the number of uncontested races is typical.