Jesse Scheckner
Democrat Alexcia Cox is the likely victor in a three-way race for Palm Beach County State Attorney, but outstanding mail-in ballots may trigger a recount.
With early votes fully counted and all 798 precincts reporting Tuesday night, Cox held a 0.59-percentage-point lead over Republican Sam Stern, just outside the threshold that would trigger a machine recount. That may change as the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Election’s Office adds more vote-by-mail numbers overnight.
Cox led by 4,258 votes at 10:35 p.m.
She released a statement declaring victory shortly after.
“With immense gratitude, I accept the tremendous responsibility of serving as your next State Attorney for Palm Beach County. Tonight’s victory represents a triumph for justice and safety — principles I have upheld daily for the past 18 years. From my early days to becoming a lead prosecutor, I’ve been committed to protecting our community and serving my hometown with everything I have,” she said.
“As I step into this role, I am more determined than ever to continue my life’s work: delivering justice for victims, holding criminals accountable, and leading with transparency, integrity, and a commitment to putting our community first. This campaign was never about politics. It was about bringing people together across our community who share a vision for a fair, balanced justice system that protects every resident and family.”
Cox, Stern and no-party candidate Adam Farkas ran to succeed longtime State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who is leaving office after 12 years in the role. The winner will earn a $219,000 salary while commanding an office of some 300 lawyers and support personnel tasked with delivering justice for Florida’s fourth-most populous county.
A win for Cox would make her the first woman and Black person to serve as Palm Beach State Attorney.
Cox, 45, works as Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney, a position to which she rose over 18 years with the Office. If elected, she vowed to do more to address violent and career criminals while establishing a dedicated unit to focus on hate crimes. She also spoke of plans to create an elder crimes unit, with dedicated prosecutors focused on cybercriminals.
To improve prosecutor retention, a persistent problem for SAO’s across the state, she said she intended to establish housing incentives, health and wellness initiatives and seek higher wages from the state.
Stern, 43, is a partner at Stern Kilcullen & Rufolo LLC. He previously worked as a federal and Palm Beach County prosecutor under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Stern said he wanted to establish a task force to prosecute felons caught committing gun crimes and protect seniors from fraud and financial crimes. He also spoke of hiring more attorneys.
Stern’s penchant for law may be hereditary; his father, Herbert, is a broadly respected former New Jersey prosecutor and federal Judge who later succeeded in private practice as a white-collar criminal defense lawyer.
Farkas, 40, is a partner at Farkas & Crowley, a law firm specializing in criminal defense, personal injury and family law. He previously worked as a Palm Beach County prosecutor for less than a year.
Farkas promised to look into and address racial disparities in sentencing and reduce incarcerations by ending the jailing of minors with probation violations and expanding treatment and pretrial diversion programs.
Through Oct. 31, Farkas raised more than $100,000 and spent about $84,000 through his campaign account and political committee, Impartial Justice. That includes $26,000 worth of self-loans.
Cox raised $814,000 and spent $698,000 through her campaign account and political committee, Friends of Alexcia Cox. About a fifth of her gains came from fellow lawyers.
Her largest donation, a $200,000 check, came from Jonathan Pollock, co-CEO of the Elliott Management hedge fund that relocated its headquarters from New York to West Palm Beach in 2020.
Stern raised more than his opponents combined, stacking more than $1.59 million between his campaign account and political committee, Stern PC. He also spent $1.42 million and loaned his campaign $175,000.
Like Cox, Stern enjoyed ample support from members of the legal profession. His largest contribution was a $250,000 check from Palm Beach billionaire Thomas Peterffy, founder and Chair of Connecticut-headquartered Interactive Brokers.
Peterffy’s contribution, combined with others from fellow Donald Trump allies John Paulson and Steve Wynn, helped fund attack ads against Cox and Farkas. Stern denied any affiliation to Trump, who in 2021 pardoned a client of his.
Cox carried more than 75 endorsements from current and former elected officials, including Aronberg, four Democratic members of Congress, Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Palm Beach Clerk Joseph Abruzzo, Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor and more than a dozen advocacy organizations.
In the Aug. 20 Primary, Cox defeated fellow Democrats Gregg Lerman and Craig Williams — the latter a Chief Assistant State Attorney who outranked her — with 64% of the vote. Both subsequently endorsed Stern, who defeated a lone Primary opponent named Forrest Freedman.
He won endorsements from Republican Reps. Mike Caruso, Peggy Gossett-Seidman and Rick Roth, and Palm Beach County Commissioner Sara Baxter.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel also endorsed Stern. The Palm Beach Post is backing Cox.
Last week, Florida Politics reported that Stern incorrectly asserted that unlike Cox, he had not “accepted contributions from convicted criminals.”
Stern was referring to a $1,000 donation Cox accepted from Broward Sheriff’s Advisory Council Vice Chair Lewis Stahl, who in 2019 was sentenced to 30 months in prison, fined $75,000 and ordered to pay $6 million in restitution after being convicted of tax evasion in 2019.
But Stern took $100,000 from a company called Wynnefield Brothers International, whose principals Don and Stefan Brodie were found guilty in the early 2000s of violating a trade embargo with Cuba. The brothers gave millions to Republicans across the U.S. this cycle, including Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
