Tropical Storm Fay made a big impact on voter turnout Tuesday -- especially in Brevard County.
Election leaders in Brevard County were hoping for 50 to 60 percent participation, but estimates show only 22 percent headed out to the polls.
Brevard County Voting Machine Problems
A technical glitch caused major delays in the vote count in Brevard County. Election officials said the problem was with the modems on the touch-screen voting machines in Titusville, Melbourne and Palm Bay.
Officials said the results had to be physically driven into the Viera office, and the results could not be posted until those votes came in.
"The unfortunate part is that we determined here, about last December, that the modem in these particular machines had a problem, and we've been struggling with the company ever since. We finally proved to them about a month ago that these modems need to get replaced. Unfortunately, the numbers we needed, they didn't have in stock,"said Dwayne Lundgren, the assistant elections supervisor in Brevard County.
Ric Keller Wins By Narrow Margin
Incumbent Republican Congressman Ric Keller found himself in a battle on primary night, having to fight off a challenge by Todd Long.
It was neck-and-neck all night, but Keller pulled away for a narrow win with 54 percent of the votes. Now, Keller says, he looks forward to debating Alan Grayson on the issues.
"The biggest issues that we face right now are high gas prices. I believe we need to drill for oil in Alaska and the Gulf. Mr. Grayson supports no new drilling. I oppose any tax increases in a time when people are hurting so much. Mr. Grayson wouldn't make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I believe that people should have a Second Amendment right to own a gun. Mr. Grayson supports gun control. So we have crystal clear differences on the issues facing the American public," Keller told News 13.
Grayson defeated Charlie Stuart -- who beat him two years ago -- along with three other candidates. Grayson won with
48 percent of the vote to Stuart's 28 percent. Grayson said his united campaign was the key to his victory.
"(We made) 100,000 phone calls. 100,000 knocks on the door. This is a campaign that reached people and listened to people and that's what people really want these days -- they want a candidate who listens, so that's why we won," Grayson said.
This is a seat that Democrats have been targeting in the November election. Their hopes were raised by the closeness in the race in Keller's party on Tuesday.
Brevard County Races
In Brevard County, four Republicans, including Beth Allen, the wife of former state Rep. Bob Allen, competed for Brevard County Supervisor of Elections.
Bob Allen resigned after being convicted of soliciting sex in a park bathroom.
Beth Allen came in second in the primary. The winner was Lori Scott wiht 29 percent of the vote.
In Brevard County's race for property appraiser, incumbent Jim Ford won the Republican primary against three challengers. He will face Democrat Larry Hughes in November.
Orange County Sheriff
The race for Orange County Sheriff also got a lot of attention Tuesday. Current Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary is stepping down after 16 years on the job.
One of the candidates for Beary's job is the husband of Orlando Police Chief Val Demings.
In Tuesday's race, Jerry Demings beat former Undersheriff Malone Stewart by a large margin, pulling in 73 percent. Stewart received only 27 percent of the votes.
"Malone ran a good race, but the voters of Orange County have spoken. They want Jerry Demings to be the candidate," Demings said.
On the Republican side, John Tegg easily won with 78 percent of the votes over Bill Armstrong's 22 percent.
Before the primary, an Orlando attorney filed a lawsuit, claiming Tegg should be disqualified, because he didn't resign his post as Edgewood police chief until Aug. 6.
Demings and Tegg said they are looking forward to the fall campaign.
"It's November that I'm excited about. It's going to be a good race. It's going to be a lot of fun. The public will have two good candidates to choose from. I think we'll come out on top," Tegg said.
Demings said he would cut administrative costs, while putting more deputies on the streets.
Tegg said he will cut costs by hiring interns for administrative duties.
News 13 and the University of Central Florida are hosting a Orange County Sheriff's candidate forum. John Tegg and Jerry Demings will debate Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. and News 13 will carry it live. If you have a question for the candidates, send it to election@cfnews13.com.
Lake County Sheriff
Lake County's sheriff handily won the Republican primary, allowing him to seek a second term.
Gary Borders won the job two years ago after former sheriff Chris Daniels was killed during a charity bus race.
Borders took 62 percent of the vote Tuesday, easily defeating Tom Mysinger, who was being supported by Daniels' widow.
Former sheriff, George Knupp, who resigned in 2004 after he lied under oath about purchasing automobiles that used to belong to the sheriff's department, garnered 5 percent of the vote.
"We knew we had tough competition out there, but I think the citizens felt we were doing a good job and we just appreciate the support they've given us," Borders said.
Borders will face Daniels Sells, who is running with no party affiliation, in November.
Incumbent Defeated For Osceola County Commission
There is now a new Republican candidate for the District 5 seat for the Osceola County Commission.
Fred Hawkins, Jr. beat out several candidates -- including incumbent Bill Lane -- bringing in 47 percent of the votes. Hawkins said that, as a first time candidate, he never thought he'd win, but he credited his hard work to his victory.
Hawkins said that one of his goals is to diversify Osceola's economic strengths, so the county doesn't have to be so dependent on tourism.
As for incumbent Bill Lane, News 13 attempted to contact him several times, but those phone calls were not returned.
Big Upset For Judge In Volusia
In one of the upsets of the night, the State Attorney for the 7th Judicial District, John Tanner, lost to challenger R.J. Larizza.
Larizza captured 52 percent of the vote compared to Tanner's 48 percent.
According to our news partners at the Daytona Beach News Journal, Tanner said that he would not concede until the final votes are in.
Tanner is best known for the arrest of his daughter, Lisa Tanner. She was arrested in March 2005 for disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence. She said she was mistreated after being strapped into a chair by five guards.
Controversy Over Optical Scan Technology
Tuesday's primary marked the first time the entire state voted using optical scan technology.
The biggest advantage is supposed to be a paper trail to help decide close contests. But, thanks to Florida law, most of those ballots could be untouchable.
In the case of a recount, only ballots that have not been scanned would make the cut. They're usually sent in by absentee voters. If an election is problem-free, complete access to the paper trail is allowed, but if a recount is triggered, every scanned ballot is off-limits. Many Supervisors of Elections argue it all adds up to more of the same -- an election system in crisis.
"Florida would only allow a recount for approximately one-tenth of 1 percent of the ballots in a close contest, because the Florida legislature has made the policy decisions that machines make no errors and that, simply, is a ridiculous concept," said Ion Sancho, Leon County Supervisor of Elections.
That is why Florida's Secretary of State is encouraging lawmakers to rethink the rules and let every ballot be recounted.
Fight Outside Oak Hill City Hall
The Volusia County Sheriff's office is investigating a fight between two former Oak Hill mayors and one current city commissioner at a polling site in Oak Hill.
The names of those involved have not been released, but News 13 was told it was a fist fight outside of city hall that resulted in one person losing a tooth and one person being arrested.
Comment on this story.