Shelly Petrolia holds off Tracy Caruso in Delray Beach mayoral race

Incumbent Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia barely held on in her bid for a second three-year term amid a challenge from businesswoman and first-time candidate Tracy Caruso

According to Tuesday’s unofficial results, Petrolia led Caruso 51.5%-48.5%, by a margin of just 365 votes out of more than 12,000 cast. Two Delray Beach commissioners survived challenges as well Tuesday.

Caruso is a first-time candidate whose husband, Mike, is a Republican serving in the House. He represents House District 89, spanning Delray Beach and Boca Raton and running up Palm Beach County’s eastern coastline.

In the contest, Caruso accused Petrolia of being “divisive and vindictive” and harshly criticized her tenure. Indeed, both the Palm Beach Post and South Florida Sun-Sentinel recognized Petrolia’s combativeness in op-eds laying out their respective endorsement decisions in the contest.

Both publications said Petrolia deserved a second term, however. The outlets cited Caruso’s lack of political experience combined with her previous backing of President Donald Trump.

Caruso’s support of the former President and past appearances on the “Trumpettes USA” website isn’t an issue in and of itself. Instead, those publications were critical of Caruso’s effort to downplay her Trump support in an effort to with the mayoral contest in Democratic-leaning Delray Beach. For instance, on the day she filed to run for Mayor, Caruso swapped her registration from “Republican” to “No Party Affiliation.”

Caruso does have experience chairing the Delray Beach Historic Preservation Board and serving as vice president of the Atlantic Grove Condo Association. And she has been able to raise plenty of money, even more than the incumbent.

Caruso has tapped into her husband’s donor network to reach those fundraising marks, earning criticism from Petrolia that Caruso is relying on out-of-city interest groups to raise cash.

Some of Petrolia’s policies have been polarizing, such as pushing for a 150% pay raise for elected officials while the city otherwise had a hiring freeze. But Petrolia has earned praise for pushing back against no-bid contracts with the city and endorsing police and fire pension reforms.

As for the Commission races, Commissioner Adam Frankel defeated journalist Price Patton in the Seat 1 race 55%-45%.

In Seat 3, Commissioner Ryan Boylston battled former Commissioner Mitch Katz in a rematch of the 2018 contest. Boylston again came out on top, securing 60% support Tuesday.