April Culbreath
Which Republican candidate will make it to the Nov. 5 general election ballot?
Republicans April Culbreath and Talha “Tal” Siddique will compete in the Aug. 20 primary election for a spot in the race for the District 3 seat on the Manatee Board of County Commissioners.
District 3 covers the western side of the county, including all of Anna Maria Island, Cortez and the portion of Longboat Key.
The seat is currently held by Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who filed for reelection in District 3 but redesignated his campaign to run for the District 7 at-large commission seat — opening the door for a nonincumbent candidate.
Siddique, who joined the D3 race before Van Ostenbridge flip-flopped, has worked as a civilian employee for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Veteran Affairs.
Talha “Tal” Siddique
He currently works as an executive at a software company and has called for new blood in the county’s conservative leadership.
Culbreath originally filed to run for the District 7 seat but redesignated her campaign along with Van Ostenbridge’s switch.
She was a longtime employee of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office who retired in 2023, but had 12 complaints of employee misconduct sustained against her, resulting in 808.4 total hours of suspension without pay.
Culbreath currently serves as chair of the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee.
She leads the race in both campaign contributions and expenditures.
Through July 26, Culbreath raised $78,763 in contributions, $5,000 in in-kind contributions and spent $62,830.92 on campaign-related expenditures, according to votemanatee.com records.
Siddique reported $57,548 in campaign contributions, $2,460.86 of in-kind contributions and $40,059.48 in expenditures through the same date.
The winner of the Aug. 20 Republican primary will face Democrat Diana Shoemaker and write-in candidate Jeffrey Gray in the Nov. 5 general election.
Manatee County commissioners earn a $98,743 annual salary and serve four-year terms.