Incumbent Gray Holds Lead In Hillsborough School Board Run-Off Race

Updated: Tuesday, 11:24 p.m.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — The District 7 Hillsborough County School Board run-off race was close after votes were tallied Tuesday night.

With all precincts reporting as of 11 p.m., incumbent Lynn Gray won 50.82 percent of the votes, while her challenger, Karen Bendorf, earned 49.18 percent, according to unofficial results from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections office.

Most Florida polling places, including those in Hillsborough, closed at 7 p.m. EST on Tuesday, while some counties in the Panhandle are open until 8 p.m. EST because they are in the Central time zone.

For full coverage of the election in Florida, go here.

School board races are nonpartisan. The candidates are not running with political parties.

This story will be updated as results come into the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office.

Primary voters rejected two Moms for Liberty candidates backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Aug. 20 primary election.

Incumbent Nadia Combs earned more than 14,500 votes, defeating challengers Layla Collins (more than 10,000 votes) and Julie Magill (about 2,700 votes) in the District 1 race.

In District 3, incumbent Jessica Vaughn earned nearly 20,000 votes compared to opponent Myosha Powell, who took home nearly 14,000 votes.

Florida Politics reported Combs and Vaughn were targeted for defeat by DeSantis and Moms for Liberty. Vaughn told Florida Politics their wins send a message — residents want School Board races to be about schools, not party politics.

District 5 incumbent Henry Washington received about 11,800 votes. Challenger Kenneth Gay received 4,750 votes, Elvis Piggott nearly 2,700 votes and write-in candidates took home more than 270 votes.

The race was closer in District 7 as Gray, the incumbent, received nearly 54,300 votes. Bendorf was her closest challenger with nearly 46,800 votes, while Johnny Bush received more than 38,000 votes and Jen Flebotte took home about 15,400 votes.

Gray and Bendorf, as the top two vote-getters, automatically advanced to a run-off in the general election.

Bendorf, a middle-school teacher, told the Tampa Beacon that her top three issues as a school board candidate are: “1. Empowering parents by ensuring they are aware of what their children are learning and exposed to in the classroom and by ensuring accountability for student behavior and expectations. 2. Improving literacy by instructing children using scientifically based reading disciplines and practices. 3. Accountability in and wise stewardship of the over $4 billion-dollar budget.”

Gray, a former teacher, told the Beacon that her top priorities for the district are “the safety and mental well-being for all students, the financial stability of our school district, and education which matches our diverse population.”