Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter won the Republican nomination for the District 6 commission seat she currently holds after easily defeating her primary challenger, Elizabeth Accomando, in a bitter and polarizing contest.
Baxter will face off against Katherine Waldron,who also comfortably won the Democratic nomination in defeating two rivals, Rudolph Tinker and Mario Guzman.
Baxter faced a contentious Republican primary contest against Accomando, president of the Indian Trail Improvement District. Baxter had the endorsement of President Donald Trump and a 10-to-1 fundraising advantage, including donations from entities tied to billionaires Steven Ross and Larry Ellison.
Accomando said the fundraising advantage was too much to overcome. "They
had the money, and we did not," she said. "I was the victim of non-stop negative ads." Accomando said she would not endorse Baxter in the general election.
Baxter said that in light of what she called the dirtiest local campaign she has ever seen, she would have expected nothing less.
"I want to thank all the people who voted for me," she said. "There were a lot lies that were said about me."
Both Republicans carried out their campaigns with the backdrop of a divisive community debate within the district over a proposed data center, known as Project Tango.
The Accomando campaign criticized Baxter for publicly opposing the hyperscale data center proposed for the Loxahatchee area, which led her to recuse herself from the project on the grounds of prejudgment.
Baxter aired Fox News attack ads against Accomando, calling her a "Kamala Harris liberal." Accomando accused Baxter of improperly directing a county worker to remove one of her campaign signs from his lawn.
Baxter, in turn, filed a complaint with the Florida Election Commission alleging that Accomando committed a felony, as Baxter denies ever being involved in such conduct. The complaint also calls on the Palm Beach County state attorney to investigate the incident.
Just days before the primary, Baxter was the focus of a whistleblower complaint alleging the incumbent Republican of pressuring an aide into a sexual relationship with a potential donor.
In the end, Baxter decisively defeated Accomando by 19 points. With all 111 precincts reporting, Baxter garnered 7,650 votes to 5,234 for Accomando.
Baxter-Waldron matchup in November
Waldron defeated her closest challenger, Tinker, by 21 points. Waldron said she was "pleased" with the outcome, noting that she entered the race late. Waldron is a former state representative and Port of Palm Beach commissioner.
"I'm pleased with the result," Waldron said, noting she entered the race near the deadline for submitting her petitions.
She said she wants to address the affordability crisis in the county but, at the same time, wants to ensure that affordable housing projects are built in areas where there is available mass transit.
"It is important that they built in the right areas," she said.
District 6 includes Wellington, Westlake, Royal Palm Beach, and parts of Greenacres, and extends westward to the Glades.
Whistleblower complaint furthered inflamed GOP race
A week before votes were counted, The Palm Beach Post revealed the filing of a whistleblower complaint by a former Baxter commission aide.
The aide said she rejected the pressure, and ultmately felt humiliated and forced to leave the job, according to the complaint. The union representing county firefighters withdrew its endorsement of Baxter, citing The Post article.
But Baxter drew support from Carl Casio, chairman of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County, who sent a letter to rank-and-file Republicans that cricized The Post's decision to publicize the whistelblower complaint as well as Accomando for comments she made about the whistleblower's allegations.
Baxter has denied the allegations. She said the complaint was a "smear" attempt and likened it to allegations of scandal against Trump.
Baxter won across all voting methods, taking 58% of Election Day ballots, 57% of early votes and 65% of mail ballots.
Waldron also won decisively across all voting methods.
At issue now is whether Accomando supporters will vote for Baxter in the general election.
Baxter benefitted from a divide in the Democratic Party four years ago when she defeated Democrat Michelle McGovern, who was involved in a bitter primary campaign with Matt Willhite, a county firefighter.
Waldron, like Baxter, had nearly $200,000 available for her campaign, primarily raised through her PAC, Friends of Katherine Waldron. Tinker, a small business owner, raised just $80,000.
Mike Diamond is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Sara Baxter cruises to GOP win, setting up showdown with Katherine Waldron
