Reginald Blount and Hank Rogers will advance to the Nov. 5 runoff for Duval’s District 5 school board seat, after no candidate received enough votes for a majority.

The win comes as Duval County Public Schools grapples with budget cuts, declining enrollment and the specter of impending school closures.

Blount earned 41% of the vote, and Rogers earned 40% of the vote. Nicks, who has repeatedly run unsuccessful campaigns in Jacksonville, earned 19% of the vote.

The school board sets policy for the school district, including budget allocations, curriculum decisions and the district code of conduct.

The new school board member will take office on Nov. 19 to replace term-limited Warren Jones.

Reggie Blount, a military veteran, has been endorsed by parents advocacy group Moms For Liberty and the Republican Party of Duval County. He has also been endorsed by GOP Florida state Rep. Wyman Duggan and City Council member Mike Gay. He’s part of a slate of conservative candidates running in each of Duval’s four school board contests this year. He previously ran for Jacksonville City Council as a Republican in 2019 and 2023.

Hank Rogers, the chief operating officer of the I Am A Star Foundation, has touted his experience as a legislative aide in Tallahassee and his involvement in local education, including serving as the chairman of the district’s half-cent sales tax oversight committee. He secured endorsements from the teachers union and most of the area’s Democratic elected officials, including state Rep. Angie Nixon, Sen. Tracie Davis and City Councilman Jimmy Peluso.

Rogers ran for this School Board seat in 2016, losing to Warren Jones, who also endorsed Rogers as his successor.