Ryan Nicol
Broward County School Board Member Robin Bartleman secured an easy win Tuesday night in the House District 104 Democratic primary.
Bartleman defeated first-time candidate Morey Wright 70%-30%.
Bartleman will now face Republican George Navarini in the General Election.
Bartleman is a veteran of the Broward County political scene. She’s currently the longest-tenured member of the School Board after first joining that body in 2004. She served on the Weston City Commission for the four years before that.
HD 104 covers parts of Broward County including Weston and Southwest Ranches.
Bartleman is giving up her at-large School Board seat in her bid to replace term-limited Democratic Rep. Richard Stark, who announced his plans to run for Weston Mayor.
In addition to her School Board experience, Bartleman has worked as a school teacher and an assistant principal, making education a priority in her campaign. She has vowed to push for additional funding for public education should she take over the seat.
Wright works as a technology consultant and decided to run after his mom lost her health insurance while battling breast cancer. He said his mother would have qualified for Medicaid had the Republican-controlled Legislature expanded the program.
Bartleman attracted most of the cash in the race, courting more than $105,000. Wright raised less than $11,000. Her two decades in local government gave Bartleman a name-ID advantage as well.
Democrats in the district hold nearly a 15-percentage point advantage over Republicans. That means Bartleman will be favored over Navarini come November.
