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More than two dozen candidates for local and statewide offices had a minute each to speak — most took more time; they’re politicians, after all — at tonight’s Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Political Hob Nob. Check after the jump for a video of the speeches and the results of a straw poll.

Several hundred people attended the event at the Sun ‘n Fun Florida Air Museum. Candidates had to speak above the hubbub of conversations in the back of the room, as heard in the video below. The forum was moderated by Chamber Chairman Mike McGee.

After the video, scroll down for the results of the straw poll.

The event included a straw poll in which 292 guests cast votes showing their preference in races on this fall’s Aug. 30 and Nov. 8 ballots. Attendance was dominated by Chamber members and their friends who paid admission of $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

The results for local races mirrored endorsements announced Monday by Business Voice of Greater Lakeland, the Chamber’s political arm, in the races where Business Voice made an endorsement. The only exception was the race for School Board District 2, in which Business Voice endorsed Kevin Kitto and tonight’s attendees favored Ronnie L. Clark.

One more note before the vote totals: In races with primaries, tonight’s straw vote included a mixture of all candidates from both parties on the same ballot.

All straw poll winners in partisan races were Republicans. The candidate with the most votes was incumbent U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, who polled 210 out of 292 voting.

President

  • Donald J. Trump: 161
  • Hillary Clinton: 98
  • Gary Johnson: 29

U.S. Senate

  • Marco Rubio: 156
  • Patrick Murphy: 28
  • Carlos Beruff: 24
  • Alan Grayson: 22
  • Roque De Le Fuente: 19
  • Tony Khoury: 13
  • Pam Keith: 5
  • Reginald Luster: 4
  • Basil E. Dalack: 2
  • Bruce Nathan: 2
  • Dwight M.A. Young: 2
  • Ernie Rivera: 1
  • Paul Stanton: 1
  • Augustus Invictus: 0
  • Steven Machat: 0

U.S. Congress, District 9

  • Wayne Liebnitzky: 86
  • Darren Soto: 60
  • Wanda Rentas: 47
  • Dena Grayson: 36
  • Susannah Randolph: 14
  • Valerie Crabtree: 10

U.S. Congress, District 15

  • Dennis Ross: 210
  • Jim Lange: 71

U.S. Congress, District 17

  • Tom Rooney: 175
  • April Freeman: 80
  • John W. Sawyer: 9

Public Defender

  • Rex Demmig: 189
  • Flora Tonya Stewart: 75

State Senate, District 22

  • Kelli Stargel: 184
  • Debra S. Wright: 98

State House, District 39

  • Neil Combee: 194
  • Victor Sims: 85

State House, District 40

  • Colleen Burton: 180
  • Shandale Terrell: 105

State House, District 41

  • Sam Killebrew: 113
  • Charles Davis: 70
  • Bob Doyel: 54
  • Nicolas Garcia: 30

State House, District 42

  • Mike LaRosa: 178
  • Benny Valentin: 78

State House District 56

  • Ben Albritton:, 192
  • David C. Poulin: 72

County Commission, District 3

  • Bill Braswell: 140
  • J.C. Martin: 92

County Commission, District 5

  • John Hall: 186
  • Carol Castagnero: 80

School Board, District 1

  • Hunt Berryman: 135
  • Billy Townsend: 93
  • Ed Shoemaker: 37

School Board, District 2

  • Ronnie L. Clark:, 101
  • Lori Cunningham: 99
  • Kevin Kitto: 49
  • Tim James: 11

School Board, District 4

  • Becky Troutman: 157
  • Sara Beth Reynolds: 46
  • Ed Smith: 45
  • Rebekah Ricks: 20

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Barry Friedman founded Lkldnow.com in 2015 as the culmination of a career in print and digital journalism. Since 1982, he has used the tools of reporting, editing and content curation to help people in Lakeland understand their community better.

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