We’ve written extensively about many of the races being decided at the Florida polls right now. Tonight, we finally get answers about what it all means. The Florida Independent will be offering team coverage of today’s outcomes all evening long. Here’s a primer on the races we’ve got our eye on:
Rick Scott vs. Bill McCollum
- The most heated and controversial campaign in the state so far, the battle between Rick Scott and Bill McCollum pits a multimillionaire former health care executive seeking high office for the first time against a former congressman and Florida’s current attorney general.
- Both are Republicans, both are seeking the party’s nomination in the November gubernatorial race and both have resorted to increasingly vicious TV attacks as the campaign concludes. Recent polls offer conflicting information on who is likely to win.
- We’ll be covering the results as they come in, as well as offering firsthand updates from the two candidates’ primary night parties. Click here for all our past coverage of Scott; click here for all our past coverage of McCollum.
Kendrick Meek vs. Jeff Greene
- Another intense competition, this race for the Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination features Miami’s Rep. Kendrick Meek against billionaire latecomer Jeff Greene.
- Recent polls seem to indicate that Meek, the longtime favorite of Democratic insiders, has built a comfortable lead over Greene, his surprise challenger. Whoever wins faces an uphill battle in the three-way race for the U.S. Senate, as both poll consistently behind Republican candidate Marco Rubio and independent candidate Gov. Charlie Crist.
- We’ll be covering the results as they come in. Click here for all our past coverage of Meek; click here for all our past coverage of Greene.
U.S. House District 8 Republican primary
- The race to square off against firebrand Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, features a bevy of candidates, a host of infighting, and disputes between tea party movement activists and the organized, officially recognized Florida Tea Party.
- We’ll be covering the results as they come in, and analyzing what they mean for Florida’s tea party. Click here for all our past coverage of the tea party vs. Tea Party controversy; click here for all our past coverage of Grayson.
U.S. House District 24 Republican primary
- A Republican primary that features dynamics similar to the District 8 race, the winner tonight will face Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-Port Orange.
- We’ll be covering the results as they come in.
U.S. House District 17 Democratic primary
- In the race to replace U.S. Senate candidate Meek in the House of Representatives, several Democrats have a shot, and they’re spending mightily to win the Democratic nomination — and, essentially, in November — in this mostly African-American district.
- We’ll be covering the results as they come in; click here for all our past coverage of this race.
U.S. House District 3 Democratic primary
- Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, has become a controversial figure due to her opposition to Florida’s redistricting amendments, which would mandate changes to her heavily gerrymandered district. Will her position hurt her standing in today’s Democratic primary?
- We’ll be covering the results as they come in; click here for all our past coverage of Brown.
Florida Senate District 8 Republican primary
- Following on the heels of the now-indicted Jim Greer as Republican Party of Florida chairman, state Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, has a challenge in attempting to repair the party’s tarnished image, and his first step comes in showing he can hang onto his state Senate seat.
- We’ll be covering the results as they come in, and will be offering live updates from Thrasher’s victory party, hopefully with his thoughts on the other Republican races playing out throughout the state. Click here for all our past coverage of Thrasher.
Florida House District 67 Republican primary
- This race could offer a glimpse at which style of the conservative candidate is likely to appeal to Republican voters this November, and carries implications for the tea party movement as well.
- We’ll be covering the results as they come in.
Obviously, as other stories develop we will update the site with that info as well, and we’ll post every story in our Primary 2010 category, so you can get the latest.
Are you a social media junkie? We’ll be tweeting election updates all evening as well via FLIndependent, and we’ll be hash-tagging all our coverage with #FLPrimary. Join in the conversation!
