Blog: 2022 Florida primary election

Florida's primary election was on Tuesday, and Democratic voters decided who's taking on Gov. Ron DeSantis in November and GOP Senator Marco Rubio.

Locally in the Tampa Bay area, voters in Hillsborough and Pasco counties decided on a proposed millage tax to support public schools.

ELECTION 2022 | Full Coverage

Voters decided two congressional seats, one in District 13 to replace Charlie Crist and the other in District 15, the state's newest district.

School board seats were also on the ballot in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

11:30 p.m.

Results: Pinellas County School Board Race

Results: Congressional District 15

11:02 p.m.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried concedes Democratic nomination

9:53 p.m.

Pasco County voters have voted yes on the school board referendum. The final vote total was 54,523 votes to pass the referendum and 38,523 votes to reject it, a 16,000 vote difference.

9:10 p.m.

Unofficial numbers from Hillsborough County showed voters rejected a referendum that would have allocated more funds to schools through a raise in homeowner taxes (millage rate). However, the county said late Tuesday that 3,500 vote by mail ballots remain to be counted, and the official results won't be certified until Thursday night or Friday morning.

A machine recount will be triggered if the difference is 0.5% or less.

Unofficial numbers: (via Hillsborough County Elections site)
448 of 448 precincts reporting
Yes — 108,492
No — 109,444

8:17 p.m.

Rep. Charlie Crist speaks after winning the Democratic nomination for governor.

8:10 p.m.

Val Demings speaks after winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

8:04 p.m.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist will go against Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in November.

8:03 p.m.

Democratic candidate U.S. Rep. Val Demings will go against incumbent Republican Senator Marco Rubio in November.

7 p.m.

Polls are officially closed across the Tampa Bay area. Click here to view the latest results.

6:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

Lauren St. Germain reported on voter turnout across the Tampa Bay area.

5:30 p.m.

Rebecca Petit reported on the crowded US District 15 race from Polk County.

Secretary of State Cord Byrd told members of the press his department was in contact with all of the state’s 67 election supervisors, and so far, he had not heard of any major issues interfering with ballot casting or election security.

Paul Lagrone spoke in studio with political analyst Susan MacManus about the primary election and school board races.

Katie Lagrone reported on Desantis backed candidates for the school board races from Sarasota.

In St. Pete, Kylie McGivern reported on the Pinellas County School Board races.

Mary O'Connell reported in Tampa on the Hillsborough County School Board races.

5 p.m.

Rochelle Alleyne reported on the US District 13 race, Charlie Crist's old seat, in Clearwater.

Also in Clearwater, Sarah Hollenbeck reported on the US District 13 race.

Vanessa Ariza reported on Val Demings run for US Senate from Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

WPTV reporter Todd Wilson reported on Nikki Fried's base for the Governor race in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Erik Waxler reported on the Governor's race from Charlie Crist base at the Hilton in St. Pete.

3:15 p.m.

While much of the attention Tuesday will be on the Democratic candidates selected in the primaries, the Republican Party of Florida will be launching a "Keep Florida Free Tour" with Governor Ron DeSantis, Senator Marco Rubio, and others. The tour starts in Miami Tuesday night and will make its way through Seminole, Duval, and Hillsborough County on Wednesday.

3:00 p.m.

Historically, the primary election voter turnout in Florida in non-presidential years hovers around 23% since 2000. The lowest voter turnout in the last two decades happened in 2008 and 2014 when just 18% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the primary election that year.

Overall, primary voter turnout hasn't been above 30% since 1992 when 35 percent voted in the Florida primaries. The 35% in 1992 was also the largest turnout since 1980. The last time at least half the electorate turned out to vote in a Florida primary election was in 1966.

1:30 p.m.

Ron Turner, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections, tweeted out at 1:09 p.m. that the unofficial voter turnout in Sarasota County was around 29.5%. As of 1:30 p.m., 105,107 voters have cast their ballots in Sarasota County.

In Hillsborough County, the unofficial voter turnout shows 186,056 voters have cast their ballots, with the majority voting by mail.

In Pasco County, 77,649 voters have cast their ballot. In Pinellas County, there have been 179,857 ballots cast.

In Manatee County there have been 70,977 ballots cast, the majority voting by mail.

In Citrus and Hernando counties, there have been 31,352 and 30,275 ballots cast, respectively.

12 p.m.

Craig Latimer, the Supervisor of Elections in Hillsborough County, said as of noon, 177,628 voters have cast their ballots. That includes early voting and voting by mail.

Pinellas County's unofficial voter turnout shows that 172,162 people have voted, with a majority done by mail.

In Pasco County, 73,427 voters have cast their ballots. In Sarasota County, there have been 99,565 ballots cast.

There have been 77,106 ballots cast in Polk County and 55,825 have been cast in Manatee County.

In Citrus and Hernando counties, there have been 29,693 and 28,539 ballots cast, respectively.

9:30 a.m.

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd discusses the 2022 primary election. Results will be posted at FloridaElectionWatch.Gov after 7 p.m.

9 a.m.

Congressman Charlie Crist casts his vote in St. Petersburg. Crist is seeking to return to the governor's mansion for the first time since he served a single term from 2007-2011.

8:30 a.m.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried casts her vote. Fried hopes to become the state's first female governor while leaning into the fight for abortion rights.

7 a.m.

Polls officially open across the Tampa Bay area.