Election 2026
Reeves Avoids Runoff, Kohler Holds Off Dorsey
Turnout came in lighter than expected across Escambia County, but almost every sitting officeholder walked away with a comfortable win, and Inweekly tried something new to bring you the results live.
Mayor D.C. Reeves won reelection outright Tuesday night, clearing the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff in a crowded six-candidate field. He finished with 53.23% of the vote, well ahead of runner-up Alicia Trawick, who took 21%. Ann Hill followed with 10%, Jermaine Williams with 8%, Jasmine Brown with 4%, and Eric Shorter with 3%.
The margin was no accident. Reeves’ campaign spent almost $97,000, and his political committee, Citizens for Pensacola, added another $49,000—bringing his total to about $146,000. His five opponents combined spent $78,615. Four years ago, in a four-person race, Reeves avoided a runoff and edged former city council members Sherri Myers and Jewel Cannada-Wynn, along with Steve Sharp, by just 168 votes. This time, facing more opponents, he ran stronger, not weaker.
“You can’t argue with the success that D.C. Reeves has had. Downtown is on fire. We’re top downtown in the country, top beach in the country.” – former Commissioner Jeff Bergosh
District 2: The Problem Child Behaves-For Now
Escambia County Commission District 2 has chewed up incumbents for two decades—Gene Valentino, Doug Underhill, and a razor-thin Underhill win over Alan McMillen that came down to 212 votes in 2018. This year, incumbent Mike Kohler broke the pattern, beating Glenn Dorsey with roughly 62% of the vote, even after County Clerk Pam Childers, state Rep. Michelle Salzman, and Commissioner Ashley Hofberger publicly worked to unseat him.
School Board Incumbents Sweep, Voters Say Yes to Elected Superintendent
All three school board incumbents on the ballot won their races comfortably: Kevin Adams with 61%, Paul Fetsko with 66%, and David Williams with 59% over challenger Isaac Williams.
Voters also decided, by a wide 71% to 29% margin, to return to an elected superintendent rather than one appointed by the school board-a referendum Adams and Fesco helped engineer by putting it on the primary ballot, when turnout is traditionally lower.
Turnout by the numbers:
- Roughly 55,500 votes cast countywide, short of the 59,000 the campaign world had projected
- 7 p.m. turnout estimate: about 27%, roughly 2 points below the 2022 primary
- Election Day in-person voting down 17% from four years ago
- Early voting and vote-by-mail combined down 10.5%, with vote-by-mail alone off by more than 5,000 ballots
Statewide: An Upset in the Democratic Senate Primary
Locally, the incumbents held. Statewide, there was at least one real surprise: Angie Nixon upset better-funded, better-known Alex Vindman-the former military officer who testified in Donald Trump’s first impeachment-for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, taking 56% of the vote. She’ll face Republican incumbent Ashley Moody, who won her primary with nearly 80%.
In the governor’s race, Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination and David Jolly won the Democratic nomination; the two will meet in the general election. Locally, Rep. Jimmy Patronis won his congressional primary with 71% of the vote and will face Gay Valimont in November.
Behind the Scenes: A First-Time Experiment
Tuesday’s coverage marked the first time Inweekly attempted to simulcast Rick’s Blog Live across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram simultaneously. Instagram never came through, a technical issue we couldn’t resolve on air, but YouTube and Facebook carried the show throughout the night.
- Guests calling in included former Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, Ryan Wiggins. Walker Wilson, state Rep. Alex Andrade from the Byron Donalds watch party, Commissioner Lumon May from David Jolly’s election-night party in Miami, and Jeff DeWeese from Congressman Jimmy Patronis’ watch party.
Find results at escambiavotes.org.
