A.G. Gancarski
The always idiosyncratic voters at the Jacksonville Tiger Bay club voted in a straw poll for citywide candidates at this past Friday’s meeting, which we covered. The results are in and they are not party line.
In the Mayoral Straw Poll, incumbent Democrat Alvin Brown bested Republican Lenny Curry 50 percent to 40 percent, with 10 percent leaving their ballots blank. In the sheriff’s poll, meanwhile, Mike Williams outperformed Ken Jefferson, 54 percent-42 percent, with a 4 percent undervote.
It should be noted that the mayoral poll does not reflect John Delaney‘s endorsement of Curry on Wednesday.
The majority of voters went party line in these races. 80 percent of Brown voters supported Jefferson, while 95 percent of Curry voters supported Williams, giving another point of support to theories that the Republican “ticket” has more message unity than the Democratic side.
Down the ticket in At Large City Council races, the trend was for supporters of the expansion of the Human Rights Ordinance to LGBT voters to win. Anna Brosche trounced Kim Daniels, 74 percent-26 percent. Tommy Hazouri beat Geoff Youngblood by 12 points. And Ju’Coby Pittman beat Sam Newby, 62 percent-38 percent.
Brosche is a Republican; Hazouri and Pittman, Democrats. Though Brosche modified her previous pro-HRO position at this event and in other recent public appearances, she is still perceived as the one in that contest who is most open, by far, to extending civil protections to the LGBT community.
Another 62 percent of all voters split their votes between the two parties, another indication that in Jacksonville city races, party line has less meaning than the party leaders might want it to.
