PRIMARY ELECTION

Candidates and supporters wave at passing cars outside the supervisor of elections office during early voting last week.

Laura Lawhon wins; other races to runoff

Dod Walker to face Eddie Hand in runoff for school board, district 1; Brian Miller and Eddie Evans in runoff for county judge

By WILLIAM SNOWDEN Editor

Laura Lawhon upset incumbent school board member Jo Ann Daniels by a wide margin in Tuesday’s primary election.

With 11 of 12 precincts reporting and only Smith Creek still out, Lawhon was leading Daniels in race for the district 1 seat by more than 650 votes.

At the elections office to watch returns with her daughter, Daniels acknowledged that the margin was too big to overcome. She got Lawhon’s phone number from a reporter to make a concession call and congratulate her on the win.

In the district 3 school board race to replace Verna Brock, who is stepping down, the top vote-getter was Dod Walker, who will face Eddie Hand in November. Hand had a narrow edge on Gwendolyn Manning Staten, the third candidate in the race, of just 70 votes.

In the race for county judge to replace the retiring Judge Jill Walker, Brian Miller and Eddie Evans will face off in November. The third candidate in the race, Rose Bronhard, was eliminated.

LAWHON WINS

Reached by phone where her home internet was slow and she was unaware of election results, Lawhon said she was “beyond ecstatic” to hear she had won. She said she believed the people of Wakulla felt it was time for a change. “I’m excited to get to work for the people of Wakulla and I hope to make them so proud.”

Asked what she attributed a rare upset of a Wakulla incumbent with no stain on their record, Lawhon acknowledged the rarity of such a win but said she felt that, as a veteran teacher, she connected to parents, teachers and staff who wanted a voice and who would put students first.

She also said people recognized the importance of “No longer allowing our neighboring counties to take our good teachers.”

Daniels told The Sun she was pleased withher accomplishments on the school board for the past eight years. “And I’ll still continue to do a lot of the volunteering I can,” she said.

DOD WALKER AND EDDIE HAND IN RUNOFF

“When I saw the turnout at 25% today, I knew I was in trouble,” said Dod Walker. (The final turnout was actually just above 30%.)

“The votes coming in didn’t surprise me,” Walker said, “but it was closer than I thought it would be.”

Eddie Hand won second place in the race by 70 votes over Gwendolyn Manning Staten. The margin, while thin, was more than 1% so did not trigger a recount.

Hand said he was disappointed that the turnout was poor, but said: “The voters let their opinion be known that they want a change, different from the good ol’ boy system.”

Hand said the results showed that “voters didn’t have a premier candidate yet.”

“I’m looking forward to the runoff and let the voters decide in November.” Staten said she was naturally disappointed but was happy for Eddie and Dod. “I hope they’ll do what they said they’ll do.”

But Staten said she enjoyed the experience of running for office. “I’m quite sure this will not be the last time people will see or hear from me in Wakulla County,” she said with a laugh. “It may have just whet my appetite for more.”

She thanked the people who voted for her and gave a special thanks to her friend Glorida Jean Jackson for agreeing to be her escort on the campaign trail.

RUNOFF IN RACE FOR JUDGE

Brian Miller was the top vote-getter in the race for county judge, garnering almost 47% of the 6,828 votes cast in the race.

Miller will face Eddie Evans in November. Miller could not be reached for comment. Evans, though, sounded wistful.

“I wish we could have gotten it resolved,” he said and sighed. “But it looks like a lot of work is still ahead of us.”

He thanked everyone who voted.