Pinellas County · Tampa Bay / St. Petersburg · November 3, 2026 general
Pinellas County November 3, 2026 general voter guide
Pinellas is Florida’s densely packed peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf — St. Petersburg at the south end, Clearwater in the center, Tarpon Springs and Oldsmar toward the north and bayou edge, barrier-island towns on the Gulf. It is not Hillsborough (Tampa) and it is not a consolidated city-county like Jacksonville. A St. Petersburg mayor ballot is a city contest; Pinellas County Commission District 4 is a county contest; Pinellas School Board Districts 2 and 3 are at-large, so those two school seats are built for every Pinellas voter, not only one neighborhood.
That split is the reason this landing exists. The August 18, 2026 closed primary here can put a six-way St. Petersburg mayor field, a five-way St. Pete City Council District 6, a Republican county-commission primary, Clearwater Seat 5, an Oldsmar special, Tarpon Springs Seat 2, and two at-large school-board seats on overlapping but not identical ballots. Use VotePinellas. Multi-county Tampa Bay ZIPs (especially along the Hillsborough and Pasco lines) are not proof of Pinellas registration.
Not an official ballot. Not published by any Supervisor of Elections or the Florida Division of Elections. Your legal ballot is by precinct and full residential address. Always verify with the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections sample ballot tool.
Florida runs a closed primary on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Party nominations generally require that party’s registration. Nonpartisan mayor, council, and school-board races can appear regardless of party. The general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Book-closing / registration for this primary was July 20, 2026. Confirm party changes with the SOE. We do not call winners.
Key facts
- Primary (over): August 18, 2026
- Closed primary: party registration generally required for party nominations
- Book-closing / registration for this primary: July 20, 2026 (confirm party changes with SOE)
- General election: November 3, 2026
- On file in this guide: 42 local Pinellas races / 74 local candidates (plus statewide)
Open this county in the guide How to vote in Florida Primary 2026
How to read the scores on this St. Pete–Pinellas page
Scores print as Christian / Constitution / GOP The letter on a card is the 100-point total (90–100 A, 80–89 B, 70–79 C, 60–69 D, 59 and under F). Several St. Petersburg mayor cards sit at Christian 13 with a wide Constitution spread (25 down to 10). That is the opened 2026 record — fiscal cut lists and 287(g) on one side, housing/equity/DEI language on the other — not a missing faith score we refused to invent.
Statewide races on every Pinellas ballot (with scores)
A St. Petersburg or Clearwater Republican still votes the same open governor’s primary as the rest of Florida. DeSantis is term-limited. The four GOP names we print with live scores here are the values-guide top of that field, not a Tampa Bay poll.
Governor of Florida — Republican primary scores
- James Fishback (R) — 41 / 35 / 15 A
- Paul Renner (R) — 36 / 33 / 19 B
- Byron Donalds (R) — 36 / 29 / 20 B
- Jay Collins (R) — 34 / 32 / 19 B
Fishback is the high Christian/Constitution pair in this statewide set. Donalds holds the 20 GOP-alignment mark. Renner and Collins sit in the mid-30s Christian with 19 GOP. Democratic scores and the rest of the field are in the interactive Pinellas guide.
U.S. Senate (Special) — Republican score we print here
- Ashley B. Moody (R) — 42 / 28 / 20 A
Special Senate, not the regular class. Moody’s 42 Christian is the Senate mark we print on this page; Confirm the line on your VotePinellas sample ballot.
Local primary races on file for Pinellas (names + scores)
Compiled from this guide’s Pinellas file (opened 2026 surveys, WUSF, Florida Politics, and campaign materials). Lists can change. Treat votepinellas.gov as authoritative.
Mayor of St. Petersburg
This is the featured Pinellas race. It is a citywide St. Pete contest, not a countywide Pinellas office. Grades are B across the six after a public research pass. Christian numbers stay low except where a church membership is on the about page; Constitution numbers do the real sorting.
- Jim Large (NPA) — 13 / 25 / 16 F. Opened 2026 survey and 90-day plan are fiscal, infrastructure, and public safety. Faith-based groups appear only as homelessness partners. Named budget bloat, CRA sunset, luxury-condo pause, no bigger municipal electric, enforce homelessness statutes. GOP 16: registered Republican plus Berny Jacques (R). No Pinellas REC page opened.
- Kevin Batdorf (NPA) — 13 / 23 / 14 F. Opened 2026 platform, Candidate Connection, WUSF, and debates are infrastructure, property rights, and 287(g). No Jesus-by-name. No GO bond, property rights, market Gas Plant, keep 287(g), reject municipal electric. Below Large because Large published a numbered fiscal cut list. GOP 14: registered Republican; no opened Pinellas REC page.
- Maria Scruggs (NPA) — 23 / 12 / 5 F. Devoted member of Historic Bethel A.M.E. Church on campaign about page. Membership, not a Jesus/Gospel policy grid. Ethics/transparency pluses; livable-wage task force, union-first, scrap-287(g) are not a liberty stack. GOP 5: 2020 Independent vs a Democrat is not a GOP lane.
- Charlie Crist (NPA) — 13 / 17 / 6 F. Listed Methodist and Golden Rule do not move mid-20s. House Nay on the 20-week ban is a real life-issue mark the other way. 0.40-mill cut plus utility lawsuits. 2026 rest is Dem-city affordability. GOP 6: former R governor now a Democrat with a 2026 Dem endorsement stack. Rick Baker endorsement keeps him off floor-3.
- Kenneth Welch (NPA) — 13 / 11 / 4 F. No Jesus/Gospel re-election grid. Faith-leader coalition at Mt. Zion Progressive is not his Jesus campaign. Institutional big-city Democratic mayor. Housing/equity/Pride/EQFL lane. GOP 4: Democrat + EQFL/Stonewall/SEIU stack.
- Brandi Gabbard (NPA) — 13 / 10 / 3 F. Opened 2026 issues page is climate, food-as-right, DEI, and housing. No Jesus grid. Municipal power, food as a right, and leading the local anti-DEI fight pull paleo down. GOP 3: registered Democrat; NOW, Sierra, Dump Duke, LGBTQ+ business leaders.
St. Petersburg City Council District 6
- Doug Homeyer (NPA) — 4 / 8 / 0 F. No Jesus grid in opened coverage. Occupation is not a Gospel campaign. Named private-sector financial-planner signal, not a liberty grid. GOP 0 on a forced-NPA line.
- Terri Balliet (NPA) — 18 / 15 / 8 F. No continuous Jesus/Gospel campaign grid in Florida Politics/WUSF coverage; children’s nonprofit executive profile — modest mid NPA band. Housing/affordability-first municipal platform; not a limited-government primary brand. Mid Constitution for a progressive-leaning St. Pete council field.
- Linsey Grove (NPA) — 17 / 15 / 8 F. No continuous Jesus grid found; community-organizer profile — modest mid band. Forum-active community candidate; mid Constitution in a progressive municipal field.
- Trevor Mallory (NPA) — 17 / 14 / 7 F. No continuous Jesus grid in major coverage; nonprofit housing leader — modest band. Community-development nonprofit president — lower Constitution than private-sector/fiscal profiles in the same field.
- Jameka Williams (NPA) — 15 / 12 / 5 F. Associated with Faith in Florida (progressive multi-faith advocacy), not a continuous Jesus/Gospel campaign grid for this guide — lower Christian band than fiscal/private-sector peers. Progressive advocacy coalition profile — lowest Constitution in the District 6 field for this guide.
Pinellas County Commission District 4
August 18 is a Republican Universal Primary Contest: incumbent Dave Eggers vs Anthony Ringelspaugh. No Democrat qualified for this seat. Confirm the line on VotePinellas.
- Dave Eggers (R) — 24 / 25 / 16 D. Soft public church mention on the official county page, no policy grid. Mid-20s band. Not a 26 party stamp. Do not treat church membership as a Jesus campaign. Named efficiency / anti-waste / ease-regulation launch quotes plus a recorded DOGE-support resolution and storm-recovery priority.
- Anthony Ringelspaugh (R) — 22 / 26 / 14 D. Sourced GOP county race with a real platform and no faith trail. Mid-20s floor, below Eggers’ public church mention. Campaign site is the more specific local-control stack in this pair: multifamily review, mandatory capacity studies, developer-pays, stormwater/lift-station investment, storm-recovery permitting.
Clearwater City Council Seat 5
- Sam Wilson (NPA) — 24 / 20 / 13 F. No continuous Jesus grid in major coverage; young GOP-aligned staffer — mid-high band without a faith-first brand. Luna staff + DiCeglie endorsement + local GOP support — strongest Republican-adjacency Constitution/GOP signal in the Seat 5 field.
- Mark Bunker (NPA) — 22 / 20 / 11 F. No continuous Jesus grid; anti-Scientology civic activism is not a Gospel campaign — mid band for an NPA race. Prior council + institutional-independence vs a large institutional landholder — mid-high Constitution among the Seat 5 field.
- Kevin R.T. Laughlin (NPA) — 4 / 4 / 0 F. Empty Jesus trail. No opened liberty plank. GOP 0 on a forced-NPA line.
Oldsmar City Council Seat 3 (Special)
- Fraser Young (NPA) — 24 / 26 / 14 D. Family/toddler civic mid Christian-adjacency; no continuous Jesus campaign in TB28. Strongest Constitution in the field: anti densification, auditor scrutiny, anti insider money, developer-pays infrastructure.
- Amber Stephens (NPA) — 22 / 20 / 11 F. Family/service civic mid Christian-adjacency; no continuous faith package. Constitution mid: fiscal responsibility + board experience; less anti-development edge than Young.
- Jessica H. Villafana (NPA) — 21 / 19 / 10 F. Long resident/service mid Christian-adjacency. Constitution mid: flood infrastructure focus; thinner fiscal-independence package than Young.
Tarpon Springs City Commissioner Board Seat 2
Notes on this card include civic-adjacency language from result-focused sources. That is not a call of the August 18, 2026 primary. Confirm the live field on VotePinellas.
- Lori Weaver (NPA) — 21 / 18 / 11 F. Civic mid Christian-adjacency; limited faith package in results stories. Constitution mid: successful local campaign; limited policy depth in result-focused sources.
- Craig Lunt (NPA) — 19 / 17 / 10 F. Prior office mid Christian-adjacency. Constitution mid: prior commissioner experience.
- Va Celia Koumendouros (NPA) — 18 / 16 / 9 F. Mid-low; thin values trail. Constitution mid-low.
Pinellas School Board District 2 (At-Large)
At-large means this is not a single-neighborhood school seat. It can be decided in August if a candidate tops 50 percent — confirm the rule and the live field with the SOE.
- Lisa Cane (NPA) — 28 / 22 / 14 D. No continuous Jesus grid; mother/teacher/small-business brand. Registered R + Bilirakis/Ross/Twitty-class GOP endorsements vs challenger (Florida Politics/WUSF).
- Nancy Velardi (NPA) — 22 / 16 / 10 F. No Jesus grid located. Thinner institutional trail than Bilirakis-backed incumbent.
Pinellas School Board District 3 (At-Large)
At-large school-board seat. Campogni is scored on a conservative / parental-rights nonpartisan brand; Douglas on a local Democratic-guide trail. Confirm the live field on VotePinellas.
- Curtis Campogni (NPA) — 30 / 26 / 12 D. Traditional-values / parental-rights lean on a nonpartisan ballot. Florida free-state / parental-rights alignment on the Constitution bar.
- Dawn Douglas (NPA) — 16 / 12 / 5 F. Local Democratic-guide trail; not a Jesus-first campaign.
School Board D6/D7, county judge, 6th Circuit, and other municipal seats can appear by precinct. If a race is not named above, it is not in this landing’s scored top-race set. Use VotePinellas and the full Pinellas guide.
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