As the sun sets on this monumental midterm election, we will be blogging from downtown Gainesville as the results — and the reactions — come in. While all eyes are on the gubernatorial and Senate races, there are a number of important local and state races up for grabs. Get ready.
7:03 p.m. | The polls have closed. I stopped by the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections office a few minutes ago, and Supervisor Pam Carpenter said she expects turnout in the county will be between 50 percent and 55 percent. “I always hope for more,” she said. “But I’m not certain we were that busy out there today.”
7:13 p.m. | Before going to the county administration building to wait for returns, I stopped by the downtown Hampton Inn, where Perry C. McGriff Jr. will be partying (or not) tonight. The Democrat challenging Republican incumbent Steve Oelrich for the Florida Senate District 14 seat said, “I’ve done all the work I can.”
7:20 p.m. | McGriff is hoping the relatively good turnout Carpenter is predicting will work in his favor. “The bigger the turnout the better chances I have,” he told a supporter. In 2006, he said, when Ed Jennings Jr. lost to Oelrich, turnout was 47 percent throughout the district.
7:45 p.m. | The crowd is starting to trickle in at the county administration building. Mayor Craig Lowe was here but left. No results in yet.
7:47 p.m. | The results will be posted on the supervisor’s website. It looks like the final number of eligible voters in Alachua County was 152,014.
7:51 p.m. | 38 of 69 precincts are up, and McGriff has an early lead over Oelrich in Alachua County: 56.88 percent to 43.12 percent.
8:05 p.m. | Upset in the making? Susan Baird, the Tea Party-backed Republican running against Democratic incumbent Cynthia Chestnut in the County Commission District 4 race, has a slight lead with 53 of 69 precincts reporting: 50.9 to 48.1.
8:11 p.m. | Rick Scott, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, is not faring well in Alachua County. He has 35.54 percent of the vote to Democratic candidate Alex Sink‘s 61.73 percent. Sink and her running mate, Rod Smith, an Alachua attorney and former state prosecutor here, were in town yesterday for a rally with Sen. Bill Nelson and former Sen. Bob Graham.
8:28 p.m. | Back at the Hampton Inn, where Lowe and Jeff McAdams, the president of the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter, as well as family and friends (and campaign staffers) have gathered awaiting returns with McGriff. The state is showing a 10,000-vote edge for Oelrich in the outlying and an 8,000-vote lead for McGriff in Alachua. Added together, that would mean an Oelrich victory.
8:33 p.m. | With 67 of 69 precincts and early votes in, Baird has a 2-percent lead over Chestnut.
8:41 p.m. | McGriff being interview by student TV and radio reporters. “This has been a tough race,” he said. “This has been an ugly race.”
9:05 p.m. | McGriff’s campaign manager, Jason Roth, said the District 14 contest is “probably the closest race in Florida.” Down by a few percentage points, McGriff hasn’t given up, but there is clear amount of concern in the room.
10:04 p.m. | Ran into Alachua County Democratic Executive Commitee Chairman Jon Reiskind at the Hampton Inn. Needless to say, he was disappointed, calling this a “tragic night for the state of Florida.” I have switched locales — reporting now from Napolatano’s Restaurant on Tower Road, where state House candidate Keith Perry and Oelrich are celebrating. Oelrich’s campaign is waiting on McGriff’s call.
10:06 p.m. | Just saw the full returns from the Baird-Chestnut race, and Baird has pulled off an incredible victory over the former state representative and two-term county commissioner.
10:11 p.m. | McGriff called Oelrich to concede the victory. Oelrich said his opponent urged him to represent the area “well and with integrity.” Oelrich said he assured him he would. Now back to the newsroom.