MANATEE COUNTY – Interim Manatee County Supervisor of Elections James Satcher has filed his preliminary paperwork to run for election to that position on a long-term basis.
On April 12, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Satcher, a first-term county commissioner, to serve as the interim supervisor of elections despite having no prior experience supervising an election or managing an elections office.
DeSantis appointed Satcher to serve the remaining months of the four-year supervisor of elections term vacated by longtime Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett, who resigned on March 1. Satcher’s appointed term expires soon after the upcoming general election in November.
On April 24, Satcher filed his one-paragraph campaign redesignation letter that said, “I, James Satcher, am resigning my candidacy from Manatee County Commission District 1 and filing a new DS-DE 9 for the supervisor of elections race.”
Satcher will face longtime Supervisor of Elections Office Chief of Staff Scott Farrington in the Republican primary race that concludes Aug. 20.
Currently, no Democratic candidate or non-party affiliated candidate has filed to run in that race. If that remains the case, the August primary will determine who serves as Manatee County’s next supervisor of elections.
If no non-Republican candidates enter the primary race, the primary will be open to all Manatee County voters regardless of party affiliation. If a non-Republican candidate joins the race, the primary will be closed to Republican voters only.
The winner of the race will serve a four-year term as the elected supervisor of elections.
Satcher brings to his supervisor of elections campaign $70,500 in campaign contributions he previously received for his reelection bid for the District 1 Manatee County Commission seat he was elected to in 2020.
Farrington was in his 12th year of service with the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office when he resigned following Satcher’s unexpected appointment. To date, Farrington has raised $10,300 for his election campaign and he’s currently collecting the petition signatures needed to qualify for inclusion on the ballot. The official qualifying period for election to a county office begins June 10 and ends June 14.
Redesignating funds
According to Florida election law, a candidate can change the designation of the office they seek to another elected office. If the candidate received campaign contributions for the original office they sought, the candidate must notify in writing each previous contributor and offer to return their contribution.
Within 15 days of filing the change of resignation, the candidate must send written notice to all contributors. In that notice, the candidate must offer to return to the contributor, on a pro rata basis, all contributions given in support of the original office.
The candidate must include with the notice a copy of Form DS-DE 86, which is a request for return of contribution. If the contributor returns Form DS-DE 86 within 30 days of receiving the notice, the candidate must return a pro rata share of all contributions given in support of the original office.
If the contributor does not return Form DS-DE 86 within 30 days of receiving the notice, the candidate may use the contribution for the newly designated office up to the maximum of the contribution limits allowed by law.
The full amount of the contribution for the original office shall count toward the contribution limits for the new office. Any amount that exceeds the contribution limits for the new office must be properly disposed of pursuant to law.
Related coverage: Farrington resigns, seeks supervisor of elections job
