Republican incumbent Sara Baxter will square off against former State Rep. Katherine Waldron, a Democrat, in the Nov. 3 general election for the District 6 seat on the Palm Beach County Commission.
Baxter defeated challenger Elizabeth Accomando, president of the Indian Trail Improvement District, in the Republican primary. Baxter garnered 7,723 votes (59.42 percent), while Accomando received 5,274 votes (40.58 percent) of the 12,997 votes cast, according to unofficial results from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office.
Baxter, who currently serves as Palm Beach County mayor, said she’s glad the primary is over. During the campaign, both candidates accused the other of mudslinging and misrepresenting their views.
“I’ve never seen a dirtier campaign at the local level,” Baxter said Wednesday. “The only thing they’ve done is attack me on personal issues — nothing on policy… I prayed people would see through it, and the results show that they did.”
“I find that laughable,” Accomando said when asked about the comments. “The only side that was dirty was her team. I stayed positive to the end… [and] stayed true to who I am.”
Meanwhile, Waldron faced two other Democrats in her primary election. She got 7,592 votes (53.44 percent) of the 14,206 votes cast. Coming in second was Loxahatchee businessman and educator Rudolph “Rudy” Tinker with 4,711 votes (33.16 percent), followed by Royal Palm Beach resident Mario Guzman, who works in software, with 1,903 votes (13.40 percent).
“I’m incredibly grateful to the voters of District 6 and to every person who opened their door, volunteered or contributed to this campaign,” she said in a statement after the results were released.
Waldron, a Wellington resident, served two terms on the Port of Palm Beach Commission and one term in the Florida House of Representatives for District 93, which includes parts of County Commission District 6.
Tinker kept the race reasonably close in early and election day voting, but Waldron overwhelmed him among residents who voted by mail — 3,737 to 1,632.
On Wednesday, Tinker attributed that to a strong endorsement of Waldron by longtime Congresswoman Lois Frankel, a Democrat, and its impact on voters within what he called “the walls of Jericho” — meaning many of the gated communities in Royal Palm Beach, Wellington and suburban Lake Worth.
Tinker said that while the votes are in, they are not yet certified. Once they are, Tinker said he has 10 days to file a challenge and will consider all available legal options.
On July 27, Tinker filed a defamation suit in Broward County Circuit Court against Waldron’s campaign treasurer. Waldron has called the suit baseless, and she quickly pivoted to the general election.
“I know how much families here are being squeezed by housing costs, insurance and the everyday cost of living,” Waldron said. “In November, I will keep fighting for responsible growth, clean water, stronger infrastructure and real accountability.”
Accomando, whose four-year term on the ITID board expires this year, had to forego a run for re-election to try for the county seat. Her term will expire in December.
Asked Wednesday whether she regretted the decision to challenge Baxter, an Acreage resident, Accomando said, “As much as I love the board position, I knew how important it was to be at the next level… I’m grateful to all the volunteers who worked so hard this past year, especially the last few weeks.”
Her biggest disappointment, she said, was the low voter turnout. “If people want change, they’ve got to get out there and vote,” Accomando said.
Baxter has been at the center of a number of controversial proposals, decisions and negative media coverage during her four years on the county commission.
In June, she surprised many when she announced that she was dropping out of the commission race and running for the recently redrawn U.S. House District 22 seat. Within days, she returned to the county race at the urging of President Donald Trump, she said. Trump had endorsed her in the commission race, which likely played a key role in the outcome.
Baxter said the main thing she learned from the rough-and-tumble primary was “how many of our residents saw through a lot of the negative attacks and were disgusted by the level it was taken to.”
Baxter joined the Palm Beach County Commission in 2022 after a successful first run for political office.
Born at St. Mary’s in West Palm Beach and raised in Palm Beach and Martin counties, Baxter now is a wife and mother of three. She moved to The Acreage in 2016 but has longtime ties to the area through her grandfather, who lived there starting in the 1970s. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Palm Beach State College, and she and her husband Brian own an automobile repair shop.
Before and during Waldron’s elected service, she built a career as an entrepreneur and corporate executive. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Palm Beach Atlantic University.
In her public profile, Waldron describes herself as someone who has worked to connect government, business and community groups, including service on boards and local initiatives.
In other local primary races:
Congressional District 22 — The newly drawn District 22, which includes most of the western communities, featured two primaries and nine candidates.
In the crowded Republican primary, Naples businessman Casey Askar was the top vote-getter, besting six other candidates and taking nearly 31 percent of the vote.
For the Democrats, Pia Dandiya defeated Kaysia Earley to earn her party’s nomination. Askar and Dandiya will face off during the November general election.
Port of Palm Beach — In the universal primary contest for Port of Palm Beach Group 4, incumbent Blair Ciklin easily defeated challenger Serge D’Haiti. Ciklin took 25,754 votes (68.37 percent) to D’Haiti’s 11,917 votes (31.63 percent). Ciklin does not have a general election challenger, and was, therefore, re-elected to the seat.
Two Democrats faced off in a primary election for Group 5. Incumbent Deandre Poole won the primary by a wide margin. He took 21,318 votes (71.19 percent) to challenger Taniel “T.K.” Koushakjian’s 8,626 votes (28.81 percent). Poole will face Republican Ted Sarandis in November.
Group 12 County Court Race — Attorney Jacob Noble was elected to a seat on the Palm Beach County Court, defeating fellow attorney Schnelle Tonge. Noble took 108,324 votes (55.83 percent) to Tonge’s 85,717 (44.17 percent).
