By a razor-thin margin confirmed by a recount, former Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig unseated State Rep. Katherine Waldon in the race for District 93. Gerwig, a Republican, will now represent the area in Tallahassee.
District 93 includes all of Wellington and western portions of Greenacres and Lake Worth. Waldron, a Democrat, narrowly won the newly drawn open seat in 2022. She was seeking her second term in office.
After all the ballots were counted, only 356 votes separated the two candidates out of more than 91,000 cast. The margin of less than half a percent triggered a machine recount, which was ordered by Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd. It began Friday, Nov. 8 and finished in the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 9.
The recount confirmed the original outcome with Gerwig taking 45,938 votes (50.19 percent), and Waldron garnering 45,582 votes (49.81 percent).
After a hard-fought campaign, Gerwig said she will be proud to represent the area in the State Legislature.
“I’m looking forward to the new challenges ahead, and to continuing public service,” said Gerwig, who served eight years as Wellington’s mayor after six years on the Wellington Village Council.
Gerwig added that her primary goals over the next two years will be “finding solutions to the problems facing our great state.” Among these are issues surrounding the maintenance of condominiums, which have led to safety issues, she said, with many other issues also very important.
“Affordability, mental health services and insurance issues are the things that come immediately to mind,” Gerwig said. “I will continue to seek solutions to improve our quality of life.”
During the election, Gerwig managed to flip a seat that normally elects a Democrat.
“I was able to appeal to many Democrat and independent friends through the longstanding relationships that I have built in this community,” she said. “I think that people understood the issues and have been confident in my ability to make decisions. While we have differences of opinions, I think we all want the same thing: freedom, reward for our hard work and a better quality of life for all.”
Gerwig added that she aims to help all residents, across the entire political spectrum. “The nature of elections is challenging, especially as close as this election result was,” she said. “I knew it would be a close race and did not ever take any support for granted. I have had a reputation for treating all people with respect, whether we agree on policy or not.”
COX ELECTED STATE ATTORNEY
The top countywide race on the ballot was to replace retiring State Attorney Dave Aronberg. It came down to a close race between Democrat Alexcia Cox, currently deputy chief assistant in Aronberg’s office, and her Republican opponent, Palm Beach Gardens lawyer Sam Stern. When the balloting was complete, Cox edged out Stern to become the county’s next top prosecutor. Cox took 353,203 votes (49.19 percent) to Stern’s 347,468 votes (48.39 percent). Also on the ballot, independent candidate Adam Farkas took 17,337 votes (2.42 percent).
“As I step into this role, I am more determined than ever to continue my life’s work: delivering justice for victims, holding criminals accountable, and leading with transparency, integrity and a commitment to putting our community first,” Cox said after securing her victory. “This campaign was never about politics. It was about bringing people together across our community who share a vision for a fair, balanced justice system that protects every resident and family.”
OTHER COUNTY RACES
In several other countywide races, voters chose to keep the incumbents in office.
In the race for Palm Beach County sheriff, incumbent Sheriff Ric Bradshaw secured a sixth term in office. Bradshaw, a Democrat, took 420,406 votes (58.10 percent), to defeat Republican candidate Michael Gauger, who took 303,132 votes (41.90 percent).
Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link, a Democrat, earned her second full term in office by defeating challenger Jeff Buongiorno. Link took 411,060 votes (57.13 percent) to Buongiorno’s 308,484 votes (42.87 percent).
Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo, a Democrat, garnered a second term by defeating his Republican challenger Samuel Thompson. Abruzzo received 380,173 votes (53.35 percent), while Thompson received 332,418 votes (46.65 percent).
In local congressional races, incumbents U.S. Rep. Brian Mast in District 21 and U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel in District 22 also secured new terms. Mast, a Republican, took 277,388 votes (61.83 percent), while Democrat Thomas Witkop took 171,203 votes (38.16 percent). Frankel, a Democrat, took 201,486 votes (54.95 percent), while Republican Dan Franzese took 165,182 votes (45.05 percent).
In the two Port of Palm Beach Commission races on the ballot, voters kept both incumbents in office. In the Group 2 race, Democrat Varisa Dass took 112,485 votes (52.62 percent) to defeat Republican Ted Sarandis, who garnered 101,002 votes (47.25 percent). In the Group 3 race, Democrat Jean Enright took 111,687 votes (52.37 percent) to defeat Republican Roderick Clarke, who garnered 101,328 votes (47.52 percent).
SCHOOL SALES SURTAX
Voters approved a countywide referendum supporting the School District of Palm Beach County with a half-cent sales surtax to fund security, technology, facilities and infrastructure improvements. Votes in support of the surtax were 419,450 (60.34 percent), with 275,732 opposed (39.66 percent). The surtax will begin Jan. 1, 2026, and expire on Dec. 31, 2035.
