Tina Certain’s supporters were ready to party Tuesday night.
When they weren’t craning their necks to get a glimpse of the results trickling in, they were doing the dougie, cheering and hollering in Cypress & Grove Brewing Company.
In a tight race for the school board District 1 seat, Certain pulled out a win over incumbent April Griffin by just over 1,300 votes.
“I’m elated, and I’m glad campaigning is done,” Certain said. “Democracy works when we get involved.”
For some, Tuesday evening’s election marked the end of a long campaign. Along with Certain, Rob Hyatt also secured a seat on the school board.
Since neither Gunnar Paulson nor April Barefoot Tisher earned a majority of the vote, the race for school board District 3 will appear on November’s ballot.
In the race for County Commission District 2 seat, Marihelen Haddock Wheeler clinched a win against Randy Wells and will face third party candidates in the general.
Jason Lee Haeseler pulled out the Democratic nomination over Amol Jethwani for State Representative District 21 by 1,732 votes. Jethwani, a 21-year-old UF political science senior, experienced a last minute scandal after it was discovered that he spent campaign funds on questionable items such as haircuts, Chipotle meals and nearly $500 on Lyft charges.
His opponent, Haeseler, will face Chuck Clemons, a Republican and the incumbent, in the general election.
Yvonne Hayes Hinson will join the race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives this November after beating two candidates for the District 3 Democratic nomination. Hinson will challenge the winner of the Republican nomination, Ted Yoho.
In the race for governor, Andrew Gillum secured a historic Democratic nomination and will face Ron DeSantis, President Donald Trump’s pick, in the general election. Gov. Rick Scott ran away with the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and will challenge incumbent Bill Nelson in November.
Dejeon Cain, a Gainesville preacher and business owner, clapped and cheered at Certain’s watch party. He said he is excited for Certain to fight for school safety and equity while on the school board.
“I think that the people of Alachua County have made the right choice,” Cain said.
While Certain waited for the votes to pour in, she reflected on her campaign with confidence.
“I don’t have any regrets,” she said. “We just tried to run our campaign in a good method, spread our message in a positive manner and just do everything we could do to win the race, and I feel like I’ve done that.”
Certain shared a joint election watch party with Jethwani.
Jethwani conceded to Haeseler before the official voting count was announced. He said he will support Haeseler in November.
Jethwani announced that he plans to pay back the controversial expenses discovered two days before the election but did not specify how much.
“I accept fault where I made errors in judgment,” he said. “Everyone makes mistakes.”
An hour after polls closed, Kayser Enneking, a Democratic candidate for District 8 state senator, ran through the doors of White Buffalo to be greeted by nearly 60 supporters.
The first person to welcome her with a hug was Enneking’s former teacher, Peter Stacpoole.
Stacpoole said he has known Enneking since her undergraduate years, when she studied in his laboratory at UF.
“I know her to be an honest and decent human being, a logical thinker and one who I think is truly dedicated to improving the lot of the citizens of this area,” Stacpoole said.
Minutes before Enneking ran into the bar, her husband, Mark Scarborough, announced that 43 of 63 precincts reported a total of 16,343 votes while her opponent, Olysha Magruder, had 9,308.
Thirty minutes later, Enneking’s win was official.
She attributed her success to the volunteers, supporters, friends and family who helped with her campaign.
“I did it because I’ve been a role model for a long time, and I want every little girl and little boy to look up and go, ‘That’s what a state senator looks like. I can do this too,’” Enneking said.
Magruder said despite her loss, she was proud of the role she played in interrupting politics as usual.
“I believe that we have a long way to go, but we are moving toward the right direction,” she said. “However I can be a part of that movement, I’m happy to do so.”
Although Magruder lost, her supporters and team stayed loyal and optimistic.
Campaign manager Kara Jess started working with Magruder throughout the past year because she loved her energy and passion, she said.
“I am so honored I was able to be a part of it,” Jess said. “We started out knowing we had less money, less resources and less paid staff, but I think we really worked as hard as we could.”
Magruder said she wouldn’t have done anything differently because she stuck with her mission throughout the whole campaign.
“I am committed to this fight, and I am committed to revolution,” she said. “I will always call out the truth and speak it as clearly as possible.”
State Senate candidate and Gainesville Democrat Olysha Magruder anxiously awaits election results with her husband James McRae and mother Karen Magruder at the Palomino Pool Hall on Tuesday night. Magruder lost the election.
