Minutes before Rick Scott became the fourth Florida governor to earn a second term, Gainesville’s young Republicans mixed confidence with tequila shots.
“Cheers to the governor!” the group of about 40 shouted from the second floor deck at The Swamp restaurant in Midtown.
Plastic cups filled and refilled with beer, women sipped wine, and the printed face of Charlie Crist was passed across tables. Some rubbed the face — for good luck, they explained.
Maybe it was the rubbing, or maybe it was something else, but Scott was able to inch ahead and steadily lead Democratic candidate Crist as polls across Florida closed Tuesday night.
As of 10:40 p.m., nearly all counties had been reported, with Scott earning 48.3 percent of the vote — just 81,000 votes more than Crist, who lost by about 1.4 percentage points.
Scott’s win was just one of many for the Republican Party on Tuesday. Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose stringent defense of Florida’s same-sex marriage ban has landed her in headlines across Florida this fall, won with 55.25 percent of state votes.
In Alachua County, Republican Ted Yoho secured re-election as a representative for District 3 for the U.S. House of Representatives with 65.02 percent of the vote. Republican incumbent Keith Perry sealed his third term representing District 21 in the State House as well.
Republican incumbents Jeff Atwater and Adam Putnam also sealed seats as chief financial officer and commissioner of agriculture, respectively.
But at the UF College Republicans celebration, confidence didn’t come until the end of the night.
Adam Cross, the chairman of the Florida Federations of College Republicans, sat scrolling through Twitter on his white Samsung Galaxy S3 shortly after the polls closed in Alachua County, watching numbers fluctuate. Crist and Scott were tied. Then Crist was on top.
“Right now, I can’t make a judgment call,” Cross said. “I’m always worried on Election Day.”
Cross said he remembers being 18 and out of high school in 2008, looking for a job under Crist’s administration.
“It was impossible,” Cross said. “I couldn’t get a job at McDonald’s. I couldn’t get a job at Taco Bell.”
A few minutes later, updated polls came on the screen on CNN Live. Scott was up 47.9 percent to Crist’s 47.2 percent.
Cross nodded, looking at the screen.
Others were less convinced.
Kevin Nader, a 21-year-old UF economics senior, said the election was a close call because neither candidate was ideal, he said.
“In all honesty, it’s kind of the lesser of two evils between these two guys,” Nader said. “Rick Scott hasn’t proved to be the best choice, but compared to Charlie Crist, it’s a pretty easy choice.”
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Downtown, Democratic Party members huddled close at Tall Paul’s for an election-night watch party, their foreheads slicked with sweat as Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” buzzed in the background.
Democratic state representative candidate Jon Uman thanked his campaign members as his numbers dropped behind Republican Keith Perry’s, ultimately leading to his loss.
“We’ve been working on this 20 hours a day, seven days a week for months,” Uman said in the warm, packed room with American flags and campaign signs lining the walls. “We are fighting for public schools, for the environment and the working family.”
As the crowds grew thicker and the tension stronger, Uman spoke of lowering tuition costs and expanding women’s rights.
“The fight isn’t over.”
After Democratic congressional representative candidate Marihelen Wheeler of District 3 lost to Republican Ted Yoho, she stood in front of the crowd with her arms crossed over her red sweater.
“This has been a great year,” she said as camera lights flashed.
“We sing with the choir,” Wheeler said. “I’m singing with you. I’m not preaching to you.”
Supporters like Jackie Betz applauded. The 67-year-old spent eight hours on the side of the road waving signs for Ken Cornell, who won the District 4 County Commissioner seat with 57 percent of the vote.
As a Democratic Party volunteer, Betz said she has driven people to voting precincts, worked fundraisers and went door-to-door for the past few weeks.
“My legs are rubbery,” she said.
Betz, who owns a farm in Alachua County, said she’s seen burrowing owls get run over by trucks and gopher tortoises’ holes covered up from deforestation near her home. Her main concern in this election was conserving Alachua County’s land and forests.
“This is where I came to retire,” she said. “I love this county and want to do everything I can to preserve it.”
As Betz stared at the screen displaying the results of a few Democratic candidates, disappointment plagued her face. She said more people needed to vote.
“People aren’t dumb,” she said. “People know who they want to support.”
Cornell’s victory over John Martin named him the replacement for Republican commissioner Susan Baird, who decided not to run for re-election.
“This is not our campaign,” Cornell said to the crowd. “This is the people’s campaign.”
The UF alumnus aims to preserve natural resources and explore sustainable energy options.
“This has been wonderful because it has been driven by the people of our county,” he said as his numbers crept close to Republican John Martin’s at about 8:30 p.m. Once his victory was declared shortly after 9 p.m., Cornell gave a heartfelt speech.
“Tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow we get back to work,” he said.
When asked what his first goal as County Commissioner is, he said he wants to take his wife “out of Alachua County and give her a break for a few days.”
Just after Cornell left the stage, the crowd quickly thinned out. Others waited at the bar, sipping craft beers and red wine while waiting for the governor results to roll in.
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With nearly 50 percent of Alachua County voters turning out for the polls, Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter said Tuesday went smoothly.
“What we’re hearing is that everyone was steady and busy all day,” she said at about 9 p.m.
Though turnout was high, Carpenter said it was still on target for local election numbers, which typically range anywhere from 45 to 50 percent.
And though Amendment 2 received 66.1 percent of Alachua County votes, the measure that would have made medical marijuana legal was defeated statewide as it fell about 2 percentage points short of the 60 percent needed to pass.
Amendment 1 passed, which will increase conservation funding without increasing taxes, while Amendment 3 did not, preventing outgoing governors from appointing state Supreme Court justices.
Back at the Swamp, president of Alachua County Young Republicans Katy Melchiorre said they always knew it was going to be close.
The second-year UF law student said the group had been busy making phone calls and encouraging eligible voters to cast their ballots throughout the day.
At about 9:10 p.m., Melchiorre read out the difference in votes for Scott in Alachua County between 2010 and this year.
“2010 Scott lost Alachua County by 15,804 votes,” she said while reading from her iPhone to a table of fellow party members. “2014 lost Alachua by only 12,846 — that is a hell of an improvement!”
The crowd cheered back.
The celebration will continue today, when president of UF College Republicans Kailyn Allen said members will be riding on a party bus to commemorate the victory.
“We are really glad that our hard work has paid off,” Melchiorre, 23, said. “Especially in such a liberal area.”
Alligator staff writers Chabeli Herrera, Melissa Mihm, Patrick Pinak and Hunter Williamson contributed to this report.
Democrat Ken Cornell claps after being announced as the new Alachua County commissioner for District 4. Cornell ran against Republican John Martin.
Democrat Ken Cornell claps after being announced as the new Alachua County commissioner for District 4. Cornell ran against Republican John Martin.
