Melony Bell has ousted one of Polk County’s longest-serving elected officials.
Bell, who left the Florida Legislature to challenge Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards, captured Tuesday’s election with 54% of the vote, based on unofficial results. Edwards received 46%.
Bell, a Republican from Fort Meade, denied Edwards a seventh term as Supervisor of Elections. Edwards ran as a no-party candidate.
This was the first time since 1996 that Polk County’s constitutional officer elections were conducted as partisan races. Though the county charter declares that those are nonpartisan elections, the Florida Department of State cited a Florida Supreme Court ruling from 2019 in ordering Edwards to run the races as partisan contests.
Edwards, first elected to the position in 2000, previously served in the Florida House as a Democrat. She ranks second only to Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder for longevity among elected officials at the county level.