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Sachs Holding Off Bogdanoff; Other Incumbents Win

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - In a bitter rematch Tuesday in a district that includes parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties, state Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, appeared headed toward beating former Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff in the highest-profile Senate race of the year.

With almost all precincts counted shortly after 10 p.m., Sachs led by about 6,000 votes, according to totals on county elections websites.

Sachs' lead came on a good night for Senate incumbents, who faced few real challenges this year.

In perhaps the other most-competitive Senate race, Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, fended off a challenge from Democrat Judithanne McLauchlan in District 22 in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

Other incumbents who won included Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs; Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando; Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon; Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart; and Sen.Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens.

Also winning was Sen. John Thrasher, a St. Augustine Republican who defeated two challengers in District 6 in St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and Volusia counties. But Thrasher is expected to be confirmed Thursday by the state university system's Board of Governors as president of Florida State University, which will lead to him vacating his Senate seat. He issued a statement pointing to the fact that a special election would need to be held to fill the seat.

"Should the Board of Governors confirm me as the president of the Florida State University, I am committed to helping our district and Republican Party find a candidate who is uniquely qualified to serve the people of Northeast Florida,'' Thrasher, the Senate rules chairman, said. "Northeast Florida holds a special place in my heart, and I look forward to seeing our communities grow and flourish for years to come."

Sachs and Bogdanoff served together in the Senate from 2010 to 2012. But in 2012, a new redistricting map put them on a collision course for the same seat, which Sachs won by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent.

Bogdanoff raised a whopping $763,700 this year, with $212,000 coming during the last two weeks of October. Sachs raised about $357,000. But despite Bogdanoff's success raising money, the Republican Party of Florida didn't provide the same in-kind support to her that the Florida Democratic Party gave Sachs.

The rematch also included a subplot within the Senate. Bogdanoff is a close friend of Latvala, who is competing with Negron to become Senate president in 2016. A Bogdanoff victory would have helped Latvala in his bid to become president.

Latvala played a key role in the race, raising money and targeting Sachs over residency issues. The home Sachs owns with her husband is outside District 34, and, at one time, she claimed to live in a Fort Lauderdale condo owned by a friend.

That became a key issue in the rematch with Bogdanoff, with a committee controlled by Latvala funneling money to another committee for TV ads targeting Sachs over where she lives.

Earlier this year, Sachs changed her voter registration to a condominium in Delray Beach. She has maintained that she raised her children in the district, practiced law in Palm Beach County and has longstanding ties there.

This report is by Margie Menzel with the News Service of Florida.

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