A.G. Gancarski
The binary Duval County SOE race between Republican Mike Hogan and Democrat Tracie Davis went Hogan’s way by about a 9-point margin. Despite Hogan besting Davis, who ran her first campaign after 13 years working in the Supervisor of Elections office, including four as deputy supervisor under Republican Jerry Holland, it’s hard to say there were any losers in the contest.
Hogan and Davis congratulated each other on social media for running a clean campaign. On her Facebook page, Davis posted this message Wednesday: “Hogan and his team ran a fair, honest campaign on the issues without personal attacks. Congratulations on a hard-fought victory. I reached out to Mike last night. I let him know how great the team is in the Supervisor of Elections office right now. I hope they will continue to work toward progress.”
Hogan’s son, Joseph Hogan, who has handled a lot of the communications work for the Jacksonville political legend in recent months, told Davis on Twitter: “Thank you for keeping the race positive. You did a great job.”
The race was not without a bit of 11th hour drama, as when the Duval County GOP chairman, Robin Lumb, issued a press release a few days before the election. It castigated Davis for sending emails to people under her in the SOE hierarchy. They were sent to their official city emails, asking them to sign a ballot petition for her last year. Additionally, Lumb took her to task for filming a commercial for her campaign after hours in the SOE office.
Contacted a few days before the election, Team Davis fired back:
“I have not done anything illegal, unethical or that was not afforded to any other candidate running for office. This Press Release was filled with untruths and hyperbole. It’s funny that the Republican Party has issued a release with a list of questions, yet they didn’t reach out to the Supervisor of Elections for answers. What’s clear is that this partisan wing of the party feels threatened by the fact that voters are attracted to an experienced candidate who is winning this race.”
There is a school of thought that says that the SOE race was a significant augury, as it was the closest thing to a generic Republican versus Democrat battle on the Jacksonville ballot, thus perhaps providing insight into how low-information voters will break in binary races for mayor and sheriff in the runoff.
I reached out to Joe Hogan earlier this week to see whether Davis would be retained. He replied, via email, “I don’t think any concrete decisions have been made regarding any changes in the office. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jerry wanted to bring Tracie to the Property Appraisers office.”
Whether Davis stays in the SOE or moves on with Holland, who was elected without opposition, one thing is certain: She has a bright political future and proved to have countywide appeal.
