Over 100 people were in attendance at the District 8 and District 24 Congressional GOP primary straw poll, put on by the Orange County Young Republicans at the offices of Gray Robinson in downtown Orlando, on Tuesday evening. It was the third in a series of four straw polls that the organization has put on, with Tuesday’s straw poll being the most attended. The series started with the US Senate race between Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist in March.
Current State Representative Kurt Kelly narrowly defeated Orlando attorney Todd Long in the race for District 8 and the right to take on Democrat Alan Grayson in November. Kelly finished with 18 votes, besting Long by just 3 votes (15). Additionally, former Florida State House Speaker Daniel Webster, who entered the race just a few weeks ago, tallied 12 votes, while local businessman Bruce O’Donoghue ran in fourth finishing with 8 votes.
Dan Fanelli and Patricia Sullivan garnered 3 votes and 2 votes respectively.
The race in District 24 was won by Winter Park City Commissioner Karen Diebel, who totalled 32 votes, good enough to best State Representative Sandy Adams, who tallied 14 votes. Businessman Craig Miller garnered 6 votes, while ex-Navy veteran Tom Garcia and attorney Deon Long both landed 2 a piece.
Any current member of the Orange County Young Republicans was eligible to vote in the straw poll, the first the organization has had with its members. Traditionally, the organization has a straw poll at its annual Hob-Nob every two years, but there is no membership restriction and the event is open to the public.
This year’s Hob-Nob is scheduled for July 13th at the Citrus Bowl.
The straw poll series comes to a close with the Florida Legislative primary races to be voted on in June.
The OCYR’s meet the second Tuesday of every month at the offices of Gray Robinson, 301 East Pine Street, Suite 1400, in downtown Orlando
