Incumbent Republican George Kruse landed a knock-out punch to another county commissioner — Kevin Van Ostenbridge — in the party’s primary for the District 7 at-large seat.
The primary election was Aug. 20, when county voters headed to the polls to cast ballots in federal, state, county and school board races.
Kruse, after defeating Van Ostenbridge’s challenge, will face Democrat Sari A. Lindroos-Valimaki and write-in candidate Nathan Meyer in the Nov. 5 general election.
Both Kruse and Van Ostenbridge were elected to the commission in 2020 and were seeking another four-year term. Kruse had 58% of the countywide vote.
Van Ostenbridge, now a lame duck commissioner whose term expires in November, had filed for reelection in District 3, which includes Anna Maria Island, where he is widely unpopular for pushing a plan to build a parking garage at the beach despite Holmes Beach restrictions against one and another effort that has looked at the prospect of consolidating AMI governments or dissolution of them.
Consider the island results:
• Anna Maria voters — precinct 301 — cast ballots to give Kruse 89.96% of the vote.
• Holmes Beach voters — precinct 305 — favored Kruse with 90.74% of the vote.
Bradenton Beach voters — precinct 307 — favored Kruse with 88.24% of the vote.
Both candidates embraced the label of “conservative” but Kruse emphasized that he did not embrace the kind of developer dollars Van Ostenbridge banked in his campaign.
Van Ostenbridge raised $236,000 and spent more than $203,000, while Kruse raised $67,311 and spent more than $60,000.
Lindroos-Valimaki has reported raising more than $10,700.
As of press time, neither Kruse nor Van Ostenbridge had returned Islander requests for comment.
Kruse, in an endorsement interview with The Islander during a Coffee with the Candidates session, defined the primary race as: “This is the people versus the special interests.