The voters of Santa Rosa County spoke loudly on Election Day, choosing to elect two new county commissioners.
Rhett Rowell defeated incumbent James Calkins and challenger Jerry Couey to win the district 3 seat on the Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners. Bobby Burkett defeated incumbent Sam Parker and other challengers in the District 1 Republican primary .
Both races were Republican primaries, but there’s no democratic opposition to challenge them in November, leaving only write-in candidates as challengers on the ballot in November.
In district 1, Burkett, the former head of code enforcement for the county, received 14,293 votes, or 52% of the vote, for a sizable victory over Parker, who received 9,302 votes, or 34% of the vote. Aaron Williams received 2,825 votes, or 10%, to finish a distant third. The fourth challenger, Rollar Ayers, received 954 votes, or 3%.
In the district 3 race, Rowell, a teacher and coach at Jay High School, received 11,979 votes, or 43% of the vote, for the win over Couey and Calkins. Couey actually finished second, getting 7,872 votes or 29% of the vote, while Calkins received 7,668 votes, or 28% of the vote.
In the district 5 race, incumbent Colten Wright defeated Mike Priest in the Republican primary. Wright also has a write-in challenger in November.
