Polk County Election Results: Republicans Win Most Seats, Democrat Octavio Hernandez Wins House District 51
Republicans won most of the congressional, legislative, and county races that cover Polk County in Tuesday’s general election, while Democrat Octavio Hernandez won the House District 51 seat held by Republican Rep. Hilary Holley, according to unofficial results from the Polk County Supervisor of Elections.
Republican Byron Donalds received about 52% of the county’s vote for governor to 47% for Democrat David Jolly. Donalds won the governor’s race statewide with about 50% of the vote to about 49% for Jolly, according to Ballotpedia.
Congress
In U.S. House District 18, Republican Rep. Scott Franklin won another term over Democrat Curtis Gibson and Deva Simmons, who ran with no party affiliation. Franklin received about 52% of the vote to about 45% for Gibson.
In U.S. House District 16, Republican Sydney Gruters won the open seat left by retiring Rep. Vern Buchanan, according to a projection by Decision Desk HQ. The district covers all of Manatee, DeSoto, and Hardee counties, plus parts of Pinellas, Sarasota, and Polk counties. In the seven Polk County precincts in the district, Gruters received about 62% to 36% for Democrat Kelly Kirschner.
Five Polk County precincts are in U.S. House District 9, where Republican Dan Green received about 69% of the vote, while Democratic Rep. Darren Soto received about 31%. Results for the full district were not available from the county.
State Legislature
In state Senate District 12, Republican Sen. Colleen Burton of Lakeland led Democrat Alfred Reynolds by less than 2 percentage points, with all 120 precincts reporting. According to Florida Elections Watch, Burton leads by only 1,319 votes but is projected to win according to Decision Desk HQ.
Republicans held three of the four state House seats on Polk County ballots. Rep. Jonathan Albert won re-election in District 48 over Democrat Alethea Pugh, about 52% to 48%. Rep. Jennifer Kincart Jonsson was re-elected in District 49 with about 60% to 40% over Democrat Robert Anzalone. Rep. Jennifer Canady was re-elected in District 50 with more than 54%, ahead of Democrat Ricky Santiago at more than 43% and Jarvis Washington, who ran with no party affiliation, at about 2%.
Hernandez defeated Holley in District 51 by about 4 percentage points, 52% to 48%. Holley won the seat in a March 24 special election after Josie Tomkow left it to run for the state Senate. The district includes Auburndale, Haines City, Davenport, Lake Alfred, Polk City, and Four Corners.
County and School Board
Republican Omar Arroyo won the Polk County Commission District 4 seat with about 88% of the vote. Arroyo faced write-in candidate Elisha Gresham and was the only candidate whose name appeared on the ballot. Write-in votes made up about 12%.
Kate Wallace won the Polk County School Board District 3 seat with more than 53% of the vote over Victor Sims. Wallace led the three-way Aug. 18 primary with 45% and advanced to the runoff.
Polk County voters also approved the school district’s one-mill property tax referendum.
Polk County voters supported the amendment with more than 60% voting yes, according to unofficial results from the Polk County Supervisor of Elections. The 60% threshold applies to the statewide vote, not to individual counties.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Florida governor’s race?
Republican Byron Donalds won with about 50% of the statewide vote to about 49% for Democrat David Jolly, according to Ballotpedia. Polk County voters favored Donalds, about 52% to 47% over Jolly, in unofficial results.
Who won Polk County’s U.S. House races?
Republican Rep. Scott Franklin won District 18. Decision Desk HQ projected Republican Sydney Gruters to win District 16. The county did not release results for the full District 9, and Republican Dan Green led there in Polk County’s five precincts.
Who won House District 51 in Polk County?
Democrat Octavio Hernandez defeated Republican Rep. Hilary Holley, about 52% to 48%, in unofficial results.
Who won state Senate District 12?
Republican Sen. Colleen Burton led Democrat Alfred Reynolds by less than 2 percentage points with all precincts reporting. Decision Desk HQ listed her as the leader and had not marked her the winner.
Who won the Polk County School Board District 3 race?
Kate Wallace defeated Victor Sims, receiving more than 53% of the vote in unofficial results.
Sources:”Polk County 2026 Primary Election Results: Wilson Edges Quinn and a School Board Race Heads to November,” The Citrus Tea News, thecitrustea.com, Aug. 19, 2026; “2026 General Election Unofficial Results,” Polk County Supervisor of Elections, enr.electionsfl.org, Nov. 3, 2026; “Florida gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026,” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org, undated; “November 3rd, 2026 Polk County, FL Election Results,” Decision Desk HQ, votes.decisiondeskhq.com, Nov. 3, 2026; “Republican Sydney Gruters wins Florida’s 16th Congressional District,” The Hill, thehill.com, Nov. 3, 2026; “Manatee County results: Republican Sydney Gruters wins District 16 seat to replace Buchanan,” WUSF, wusf.org, Nov. 3, 2026; “General Election updates: Incumbents fall, vacancies filled in school board races,” Central Florida Public Media, cfpublic.org, Nov. 3, 2026; “Three very different candidates vying for Congress in Florida District 16,” WGCU, wgcu.org, Oct. 16, 2026; “Race to succeed Vern Buchanan in CD 16 is getting increasingly interesting,” Florida Phoenix, floridaphoenix.com, Sept. 25, 2026; “Hilary Holley Defeats Edwin Perez in HD 51 Special Election,” Florida’s Voice, floridianpress.com, March 24, 2026; “Hilary Holley wins HD51 in special election,” LkldNow, lkldnow.com, March 25, 2026; “Ballot set for August election,” LkldNow, lkldnow.com, undated; “Florida Senate District 12,” Florida Senate, flsenate.gov, undated
