Marion County Commissioners 2024 race update

File photo: The Marion County Commission meets as hundreds of people fill the Marion County Commission auditorium to oppose the Jumbolair expansion during the Marion County Commission meeting in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2204. The Jumbolair expansion proposal was withdrawn before the meeting started. 200 people signed up to speak against the expansion. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

As the election season approaches, several key local races are coming into focus following some movement among candidates.

Marion County Commissioner Michelle Stone, chairman of the board this year, now has no opposition as she seeks a third four-year term. Fellow Republican incumbents Craig Curry and Matt McClain each have an opponent.

Initially, Stone drew opposition from Nicole Meade, a Republican, and one independent, Jose “Manny” Alonso; however, both have withdrawn. Stone reports $57,061.72 in her campaign account.

McClain is running for the first time to keep the seat he was appointed to by Gov. Ron DeSantis following the resignation of Commissioner Jeff Gold.

McClain is new to running for office, but not to local politics. He worked in the state Legislature as the chief aide to Florida Sen. Dennis Baxley since 2016 and worked under former State Rep. Charlie Stone (wife of current commissioner Michelle Stone) starting in 2011. His father is Stan McClain, a former Marion County commissioner and state House representative who has termed out of that seat. Stan McClain is running to represent Marion County in the Florida Senate.

McClain, who currently reports no campaign contributions, initially drew opposition from two Republican political newcomers: David M. Blackwell and Sarah Almeida Dennis. Dennis has since shifted her aim and is now challenging Curry.

Both Blackwell and Dennis listed no campaign contributions during the latest reporting period. Curry reports $69,951.

Dennis told the “Gazette” that she and her husband made the decision to switch races because Curry had no opposition and her familial connections to Belleview had changed making her feel comfortable moving. “My husband is already house shopping in that district,” she told the “Gazette.”

According to Marion County’s Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox, candidates can file to run for the three county commission seats until noon on June 14.

Unless another candidate files to run, these races will be decided during the August 20, 2024 primary.