The ballot is set for the 2026 midterms in Florida, from U.S. Senate and governor to local races for County Commission and School Board.
While most of the races are competitive, two Palm Beach County School Board members won reelection without a vote being cast.
Karen Brill, the board’s chair, and Edwin Ferguson, a Riviera Beach lawyer, were reelected without opposition, among the few local races decided at the noon Friday close of qualifying.
As state lawmakers encourage the expansion of charter and private schools and traditional public school enrollment drops, both saw their victories as recognition for the work they are doing.
This story is part of a statewide partnership of 27 nonpartisan newsrooms and universities working to help Florida voters make informed decisions in the 2026 school board elections. Learn more about the Florida Elections Reporting Partnership.
Brill has served since 2010 and is entering her final four-year term as she is subject to term limits. She said she never thought she would serve this long.
“I’m humbled by the fact that I think the community recognizes my commitment,” she said. “I’m very grateful. It’s a great honor to be able to continue.”
Ferguson, a first-term board member who drew attention in September for his comments defending the right of people to speak freely about Charlie Kirk after the conservative activist’s murder in Utah, said it didn’t distract from his work on the board.
He said he’s ready to push back in his second term on state laws that weaken traditional public education. The fact that no one opposed him in the predominantly Black District 7 reflects support for the job he’s doing, he said.
“I hope to be even more effective in my second term advocating for our children,” he said.
Two open School Board seats are hotly contested with four candidates running in District 4 and three for District 6.
In the coastal south county District 4, voters will replace Erica Whitfield, who is running for County Commission. The candidates are Tiffany Bryant, Dr. Anthony Hamlet, Christina Romelus and Daniel Zapata.
In District 6, which covers the western half of the county, former Wellington Council Member John McGovern faces Widline Pierre and Wanda Rosario-Schoenfeld. They are running to replace Marcia Andrews, who chose not to seek reelection after 16 years on the board.
School board races are nonpartisan and will be decided in the Aug. 18 primary if any candidate gets more than 50% of the vote. If not, the top two finishers will face off in the Nov. 3 election.
Palm Beach County Commission
The sole open seat on the Palm Beach County Commission, that of term-limited Gregg Weiss in District 2, drew two Democrats and no Republican candidates. So the primary will be decisive. School Board member Erica Whitfield is running against Teresa M. Johnson for the $114,000-a-year job.
District 4 County Commissioner Marci Woodward, a south county Republican, has a challenge from Democrat Curtis Calabrese that will go on the November ballot.
District 6 incumbent Sara Baxter, who announced Monday she would run for Congress but then changed her mind, faces Elizabeth Accomando, president of the Indian Trail Improvement District in August. Three Democrats — former state Rep. Katherine Waldron, Mario Guzman and Rudolph Tinker — will face off in August as well with the winners advancing to the Nov. 3 election.
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