Voter Guide: August 2020 Primary

Voters in Polk County go to the polls Aug. 18 and again on Nov. 3. In August, local voters will select:

A county commissioner
Two School Board members
Polk’s supervisor of elections.

Also:

Registered Democrats and Republicans in U.S. House District 15, which includes Lakeland, will select their parties’ candidates to run for Congress.
Polk Republicans will select a state committeewoman.

Below you’ll find links to learn more about the races that Lakeland residents will find on their ballots:

U.S. House | Polk County Commission | Supervisor of Elections | Polk School Board

After the primary, we’ll add information about the races on the Nov. 3 general election ballot, which will include the race for U.S. President, a local seat in the U.S. House, three races for Florida House districts that include Lakeand and a race for County Commission.

This is a living document that we’ll continue updating. Please send any corrections, updates or suggestions to newstips@lkldnow.com.

First, some voter links:

Get a sample ballot and find out where to vote
Early voting sites are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 3 to 15. Lakeland sites are Polk County Government Center, 930 E. Parker St. and Simpson Park Community Center, 1725 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
Register to vote. Registration is closed for the Aug. 18 election, but you have until Oct. 5 to register for the Nov. 3 election.
Request a mail ballot. The deadline has passed for the Aug. 18 election, but you have until 5 p.m. on Oct. 24 for the November election.
Learn more about voting dates and procedures here.

U.S. House

First-term incumbent Rep. Ross Spano faces a challenger, Lakeland City Commissioner Scott Franklin, in the Republican primary. Three Democrats — Alan Cohn, Adam Hattersley and Ryan Philippe — are running for their party’s nomination. The winners of each primary will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election.

District 15 encompasses Lakeland and much of northwest Polk as well as a large portion of northeast Hillsborough County and some rural parts of Lake County. (See a map.)

Links:

Tampa Bay Times: Editorial recommendations
LkldNow: Two Weeks In, Franklin Has Raised $266,786 for Congress Bid
Florida Politics: Congressional Candidates Spent Big in July
The Ledger: Franklin Bets Big Again on His Own Campaign
Candidate Forum: Leadership Lakeland Alumni Association
Candidate Interview Videos: Plant City Chamber of Commerce

District 15, Republicans

Links:

Tampa Bay Times: Fact-Checking the Campaign Ads
The Ledger: U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz Endorses Franklin

District 15, Democrats

Jesse Philippe: Website | Campaign Facebook | Personal Facebook | Financial summary | Ballotpedia

Links

The Ledger: Three Democrats compete to flip House seat
Candidate Forum: Tampa Tiger Bay Club
Tampa Bay Times: Democrats’ dilemma: Picking a congressional challenger in District 15
Tampa Bay Times: Cohn leads in fundraising and Kathy Castor backs Hattersley in tight CD 15 race
Florida Politics: Nikki Fried Backs Hattersley

Polk County Commission

Two Polk County Commission seats are on this year’s ballots. Both candidates running for the District 5 seat are Republicans, but the race will show up on all ballots Aug. 28 under a rule that opens the primary to all voters if there is no opposition in November. The District 3 race, which includes a Republican incumbent and Democratic challenger, will appear on the November ballot. County commissioners represent a geographic district, but they are elected in countywide balloting.

District 2, Republican

All registered voters can vote in this race because there is no other candidate for the general election.

John E. Hall: County bio | Campaign Facebook | Donors + Spending | Announcement article

Links:

Polk Supervisor of Elections

The supervisor of elections is a non-partisan position that administers county, state, and federal elections, maintains voter rolls, and provides voter registration, campaign finance, and turnout information to the public. Incumbent Lori Edwards, first elected to the office in November 2000, faces opposition from Debbie Hannifan.

Lori Edwards: Official bio | Personal Facebook | Donors + Spending | Announcement article

Debbie Hannifan: Website | Campaign Facebook | Personal Facebook | Donors + Spending | Announcement article

Links:

Four Corners News-Sun: Candidates spar over registration issue
The Ledger: Lori Edwards, Debbie Hannifan differ on experience, elections management
Candidate Forum: League of Women Voters

Polk County School Board

Nine candidates are competing for three seats on the nonpartisan School Board. Incumbent Lynn Wilson was automatically re-elected to his District 6 seat because nobody filed to run against him. School Board members represent a geographic district, but are elected in countywide voting.

Links:

School Board Candidate Forum: Rotary on the Ridge
School Board Candidate Forum: Leadership Lakeland Alumni Association

District 1 (nonpartisan)

Billy Townsend: Website | Campaign Facebook | Personal Facebook | Donors + Spending

Links:

The Ledger: School Board race heats up

District 2 (nonpartisan)

Anita Carson: Website | Campaign Facebook | Personal Facebook | Donors + Spending

Lori Cunningham: Website | Campaign Facebook | Personal Facebook | Donors + Spending

Links:

The Ledger: Carson, Cunningham battle for Polk School Board District 2 seat
Candidate Forum: Lakeland Kiwanis Club (starts at about 8 minutes in)

ANOTHER GUIDE: LALtoday election roundup