Tampa municipal election results spur four runoffs
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Illustration: Victoria Ellis/Axios
As Tampa Mayor Jane Castor prepares for a new term, the fate of city council hinges on several neck-and-neck races.
Driving the news: Four of the six districts on the ballot will have runoffs between their top two candidates since none of the candidates in those races got more than 50% of the vote — and one race is separated by just 75 votes.
1 big win: Bill Carlson kept his seat in District 4, beating Blake Casper, who waged a highly financed campaign.
Nailbiter: Gwendolyn Henderson appeared to edge out incumbent Orlando Gudes by 75 votes Tuesday night in unofficial results.
- A city investigation found that Gudes created a hostile work environment for Henderson's sister, who was an aide. Though Henderson, a Jefferson High School department head, has said that’s not why she ran.
The runoffs: Council member Lynn Hurtak had an edge over former state Sen. Janet Cruz Tuesday night, but the contentious race will continue.
- In District 1, Alan Clendenin will take on Sonja P. Brookins. They both got more votes than incumbent Joseph Citro, while Clendenin led.
- Council member Guido Maniscalco will face Robin Lockett for District 2.
- With 49.39%, Charlie Miranda almost got the lead he needed to take the new District 6 seat, covering mostly West Tampa along with parts of Seminole Heights and South Tampa. He'll face Hoyt Prindle in the runoff.
The big picture: Voter turnout was super low, with only 13.64% of registered voters turning in ballots, likely because Castor ran unchallenged.
What's next: Runoffs on April 25.