Collier Voters Decide Key Races, Local Leadership, Amendments

Tuesday proved a seismic election night, not just for Collier County, but for the nation at large. Nationwide figures suggest a significantly higher turnout overall compared to other midterm election years. According to the Florida Department of State, turnout in Collier County for the 2022 midterm was 164,265, or 64.7% of total registered voters. The Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office reported an unofficial turnout of 172,998 with all votes reported for the 2026 midterms.

Three Marco Island city council seats were up for election. Sitting Council Chair Darrin Palumbo ran for re-election along with newcomers Jason Bailey, Dennis Bartolucci, Chris Ricci, Teri Sommerfeld, and Rick Woodworth. Current Vice Chair Rene Champagne and Councilor Kevin Dohm are slated to step down at the end of their terms.

Palumbo was the highest-profile candidate in the race, but ultimately lost, with Bartolucci, Woodworth, and Sommerfeld all coming out ahead. Bartolucci saw the most votes of any candidate with 5,198. Woodworth received 4,694 and Sommerfeld 4,557.

Palumbo came in fourth with 4,086 votes, Bailey placed fifth with 4,042 votes, and Chris Ricci with 3,548 votes.

Bartolucci campaigned on diversifying the city’s revenue, positioning himself as a fiscally conservative steward and seeking to improve the island’s waterways. Sommerfeld and Woodworth also want to pursue a wastewater improvement project and create a long-term maintenance and capital improvement plan to invest in parks, roadways, and other public facilities, along with promoting a more open and accountable local government.

While Democrats performed strongly nationwide, many Republican strongholds in Florida were held by narrow margins, allowing the party to maintain control of the state despite stiffly contested elections.

Byron Donalds, the endorsed pick of sitting Governor Ron DeSantis, beat Democrat David Jolly, securing a narrow lead of just over 1%. Results were more sharply divided in Collier County, which remains firmly Republican, with 46,846 more votes going to Donalds, a 27.2% margin.  Other candidates maintained similar margins across the county.

Republican incumbent Ashley Moody won her Senate seat against Democratic challenger Angie Nixon by a 2.8% margin, or 227,000 votes.

Democrat Pia Dandiya won her race against Republican Casey Askar for the District 22 U.S. House seat. Democrat Lois Frankel currently holds the seat. Dandiya ran on a platform of lowering living costs, expanding the Affordable Care Act, and government reforms such as banning members of Congress from trading stocks. Collier County, however, voted more overwhelmingly for Askar, with 63.5% of the vote.

For state representatives, Republicans Adam Bonta, Yvette Benarroch, and Liesa Priddy all won their respective seats, alongside Republican Lauren Uhlich Melo for state senator of District 28. The margins for the state officials were clearer than those for statewide candidates, with a wider 20-30% difference between Republicans and Democrats.

Chris Hall, sitting Republican county commissioner for District 2, won his re-election bid against Jeffersonian candidate Cody Davis by a comfortable 18,161-vote margin.

Another major issue on the ballot that attracted significant attention was Amendment 3, which would increase the homestead property tax exemption from $25,000 to $150,000 next year. Many city government officials have raised concerns about the amendment, as it would significantly reduce government revenue and hamper funding for local municipal services.

Despite these concerns, nearly 70% of Collier County voters moved in favor of the amendment, and 62% statewide, putting it over the margin needed for a constitutional amendment to pass. County officials spoke before the election about considering new tax increases in multiple sectors to offset these losses.

A similar measure for tax exemptions on agricultural and agritourism land, however, may not pass, with 58% voting yes as of 10:00 PM Tuesday, falling two percentage points short of the threshold needed to pass. Another amendment on a modification of the state’s budget stabilization fund, raising it from 10% to 25% of general revenue, requiring annual transfers into the fund, and setting conditions for withdrawals, was received negatively by voters. In Collier County, 52% voted against the amendment, and 59.3% voted against it statewide.

Additionally, the county’s proposed tourist development tax, which would raise the bed tax for tourists by an additional cent to fund projects like the completion of the Paradise Coast Sports Park, also passed with 70% of the vote. A referendum in Marco Island, which would implement a special election if a vacancy occurs on the city council or allow the council to appoint a candidate to the position if more than a year of their term has passed, also passed with an overwhelming 78.9% majority.

Other wins tonight in Collier County include John Goede and Keith West for Seats four and five of the Naples Airport Authority, Sandra Lee Buxton and Ed Brandt for Seats two and three of the Collier Mosquito Control District. Brian O. Cross, Patrick Dearborn, and Christopher Lombardo also won Seats three and four of the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District and Seat four of the North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District, respectively.

Thomas DiFlorio won Seat five of the Ave Maria Stewardship District, William H. Lee secured Seat 4 of the Lely Community Development District, and Barry Sinoway and Michael Smale won Seats 3 and 5 of the Talis Park Community Development District.