Jesse Scheckner
Florida State Trooper Joe Sanchez holds a not-insurmountable lead among decided voters ahead of Tuesday’s Republican Primary for Miami-Dade Sheriff, per polling conducted just four days from Election Day.
Among GOP voters who say they have already voted or plan to vote, 16% support Sanchez, a former Miami Commissioner and the second-biggest fundraiser in the 11-candidate Primary.
St. Pete Polls surveyed 303 likely Republican voters in Miami-Dade Aug. 15-16 by phone and text. The results were weighted for demographics of the county’s average Republican voter population.
The poll had a 5.6-percentage-point margin of error and a 95% confidence level.
Fourteen percent of respondents said they’ve voted or will vote for Assistant Miami-Dade Police Director Rosie Cordero-Stutz, who carries several notable GOP endorsements, including one from Donald Trump.
Another 12% are backing former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez, a decorated ex-police lieutenant and the contest’s top fundraiser, with more than $1 million in his campaign account and political committee.
Martinez was long considered a front-runner for the returning Sheriff post, but his removal from office in September 2022 following charges of unlawful compensation — which he’s denied and pleaded not guilty to — may have diminished his chances.
Meanwhile, 6% of those polled said they support retired Miami-Dade Police Maj. Mario Knapp and 2% are behind Miami-Dade Police Maj. Jose Aragu, whose campaign got a boost last month through a $300,000 check from hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.
Thirty-one percent of respondents say they’ve already voted. The remainder say they will vote before or on Election Day, Aug. 20. St. Pete Polls excluded responses from those who said they weren’t going to vote.
Notably, 45% of respondents who say they would be voting in the race say they still didn’t know whom they’d pick.
Others running include Iggy Alvarez, Ruamen DelaRua, Alex Fornet, Jeffrey Giordano, John Rivera and Ernie Rodriguez. All are current or former law enforcement professionals.
Miami-Dade hasn’t had an elected Sheriff since 1966, when county voters eliminated the position after a grand jury found rampant corruption within the department. Instead, Miami-Dade has a Police Director, who is appointed by and reports to the Mayor.
That arrangement is changing this year. In 2018, 58% of Miami-Dade voters joined a statewide supermajority in approving a constitutional amendment requiring all 67 counties in Florida to have an elected Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Clerk of Courts by early 2025.
The Primary is on Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5, when the winner of the GOP Primary will face one of four Democrats: John Barrow, Susan Khoury, Rickey Mitchell or James Reyes.
