The official results of the 2024 Presidential Preference Primary and Naples Mayor and City Council elections were certified by the Collier County Canvassing Board on Friday, March 29. In this post, we look at the final results, including voter turnout and differences by precinct. Next, we examine how much money the campaigns ultimately received and how they spent it. And we close with some takeaways and suggestions for where to learn more.
The Results
The Collier Supervisor of Elections reported the official results on March 29. Of the 148,524 eligible voters in Collier County, 41,181 (27.73%) cast a ballot. Specifically, there were:
- 18,339 ballots cast by Mail (44.5%),
- 9,526 ballots cast during Early Voting (23.1%),
- 13,307 ballots cast on Election Day (32.3%),
- 9 ballots cast Provisionally (0.1%)
Due to the closeness of the races, the Canvassing Board ordered a machine recount of both, as required by Florida law.
Following the machine recount, the Canvassing Board called for a manual recount of undervotes and overvotes for the City Council race because the margin between two candidates was still less than a quarter of one percent.
An undervote occurs when a voter selects fewer choices than the maximum number allowed for that contest. An overvote happens when more choices than the number allowed in a particular race are selected.
And the Winners Are …
After the recounts, the winners were unchanged. Incumbent Mayor Teresa Heitmann was reelected with a margin of 22 votes over Gary Price, her closest competitor.
Bill “Coach” Kramer, Linda Penniman, and Berne Barton won seats on the City Council. Barton, who won the third seat, received 34 more votes than Perez-Benitoa, his closest competitor.
See my previous post, Naples Mayor, Council Elections and More: What We Know So Far, 3/21/24, for more on these results.
Voter Turnout
According to the 2024 City of Naples Mayor and City Council Recount, voter turnout was 51.9%.
Voters participated in these City elections at nearly twice the 27.7% rate of voters countywide for all the races on the ballot (Presidential Preference Primary, Naples Mayor/Council, and Marco Island Referenda).
Here is how turnout this year compares to turnout in prior City of Naples elections:
Differences by Precinct
While Heitmann won 38.2% of the votes in the mayoral race overall, results varied by precinct.
Price carried two of the seven Naples precincts: precinct 475, whose polling place was Baker Park, and precinct 479, whose polling place was Oasis Naples Church.
The Money
The last day to accept contributions for the March 19 Naples Mayor and City Council elections was March 14. Here is a summary of reported contributions and expenditures through that date:
Contributions
Of note: Price received more than one-quarter of a million dollars in monetary contributions, more than twice Heitmann’s. He also received significantly more contributions of the maximum allowable $1,000 from businesses and individuals and three $1,000 contributions from Florida realtors’ political committees.
Blankenship loaned his campaign a total of $38,000, putting more money into the race than any other candidate. He also received a $20,000 check and a $1,500 in-kind contribution for an ad from the Collier County Republican Executive Committee (CCREC), the local chapter of the Republican Party. The CCREC had previously endorsed Blankenship for mayor in this nonpartisan election.
Here is a list of people and businesses who gave the most money allowed, $1,000, to the three campaigns, as recorded up to March 14:
- $1,000 Contributions to the Price Campaign
- $1,000 Contributions to the Heitmann Campaign
- $1,000 Contributions to the Blankenship Campaign
For more on the money in the Naples mayor races, see my analysis of the campaign money through March 1 at Naples Mayor Candidates — 2024 and my report on the Naples Mayor Election PACs.
Expenditures
Price’s contributions also enabled him to significantly outspend both opponents. About 40% of his spending went to Majority Strategies LLC, Dallas, TX, a firm specializing in “influencing the opinion and behavior of voters, constituents, and consumers.” They were involved in producing palm cards, mailers, robocalls, websites, and more.
Another 30% went to Strategic Media Services, Arlington, VA, for FOX and CNN commercials and other media; 7% went to his campaign manager, and 4% was paid to his campaign treasurer.
Heitmann’s spending was locally focused. About two-thirds of her spending was for printing and postal mailers; 15% was for website design, email setup, videography, and IT services.
Blankenship paid most of his campaign money to Southeastern Strategies (58%) and Victory Insights (31%), a political firm affiliated with political consultant Matt Hurley. Expenditures were for research, surveys, marketing materials, messaging, mailers, and communications to residents.
Disposing of What’s Left
As seen above, all three candidates have cash remaining in their campaign accounts. State law regulates how that money may be spent. (F.S. 106.141(1))
Candidates may reimburse themselves for any loans or contributions they made to their campaign. Price and Heitmann have enough cash to reimburse their loans; Blankenship does not.
Candidates have 90 days after the election to dispose of any remaining funds and file a final campaign spending report.
Funds may be used to:
- purchase “thank you” advertising for up to 75 days;
- pay for items that were obligated;
- pay for expenditures necessary to close down the campaign office and prepare final campaign reports.
Any remaining funds must then be disposed of by:
- pro rata return to each contributor;
- donation to one or more 501(c)(3) charitable organizations;
- donation to the City of Naples to be deposited in the general fund.
The winner may also transfer funds from the campaign account to an office account up to the limits of Florida law to be used for “legitimate expenses” related to their position as a public official.
Results Will Not Be Challenged
In response to “some misinformation” that was circulating suggesting that the results would be challenged, Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier posted this statement on the Office’s Facebook Page that was both informative and educational:
To repeat the Supervisor of Elections’ closing comment, “The Collier County Supervisor of Elections office is THE trusted resource for election information.”
Takeaways
Money Helps but Does Not Decide
Having raised much less money, Heitmann was significantly out-spent by the Price campaign. She did not retain out-of-town consultants or political strategists to produce TV commercials, robocalls, or text messages. She did not target or receive as many large contributions from individuals, businesses, or out-of-town donors. Nor did PACs send out mailers critical of her opponents.
Instead, Heitmann’s campaign used a local printer to produce its mailers and yard signs and volunteers to serve as campaign manager and treasurer.
So, one of the most obvious takeaways from this election is that while money and negative mailers might have had some effect, they don’t guarantee a result.
Surprisingly close?
Was the closeness of the race surprising?
Four years ago, the race was between just two candidates. Heitmann handily defeated then-incumbent Bill Barnett, who had served on and off as councilor and mayor of Naples since 1984. In that election, she received 55.6% of the votes, and there was higher turnout.
“I knew it was going to be close, but 22 votes?” Heitmann told the Naples Daily News after this year’s results were finalized. She attributed the closeness of the vote to the fact that thousands of votes went to a third candidate, Blankenship, who, like Price, also campaigned on a need for change.
Nearly 63% of the voters did not choose to reelect Heitmann. “I believe this is due to a public fear that she does not care about private property rights,” said Matthew Kragh, president of MHK Architecture in Naples and one of Price’s biggest supporters. He admitted that developers were “getting deviations and a stretch of our zoning codes approved” for years and that it may be time for the pendulum to swing the other way. But over the past four years, in his opinion, it “swung too far in the opposite direction.” (Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann vows to promote unity, end divisiveness after close election, Naples Daily News, 3/30/24)
Heitmann plans to meet with builders and others in the real estate and development industry to address their concerns and find more common ground, she told the Naples Daily News. It remains to be seen if she will be successful.
Every Vote Matters
If just a tiny fraction of the 8,006 eligible voters who did not participate in this election had voted for Price, the result would have been different. And who knows: maybe the future of Naples would have been different, too.
My final and most important takeaway is that EVERY VOTE MATTERS. Don’t take yours for granted.
Learn More
Voting and elections in Collier County:
- Visit the Collier County Supervisor of Elections website.
- Schedule a tour to learn about election administration and the security measures that ensure the integrity of elections in Collier County.
- Peruse the Collier County Candidate Handbook and the City of Naples Candidate Handbook to learn about running for public office.
Naples City Council elections (Sparker’s Soapbox posts):
- Naples City Council: a Primer Post
- Naples Mayor Candidates — 2024
- Naples City Council Candidates — 2024
- Naples Mayor Election PACs — 2024
- 2022 Naples City Council Elections