A recount that had been ordered for the St. Johns County Commission District 4 race was called off Saturday after one of the two candidates in the closely contested race conceded, St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes said Saturday.
The recount was initially ordered due to the results in the Republican primary being .46% between Krista Keating-Joseph and Jeremiah Blocker. Keating-Joseph had 18,905 votes. Blocker trailed by 175 votes, with 18,730.
Recommended Videos
VIEW: St. Johns County election results in Florida primary
With the difference between them less than .50% of the votes cast in the race, a machine recount was required by law, so one was ordered and set for 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning at the Supervisor of Elections Office in St. Augustine.
Votes
%
Jeremiah Blocker *(R)
Krista Keating-Joseph (R)
But Oakes said as the Office of the Supervisor of Elections prepared for a recount, she received a letter from candidate Blocker late Friday afternoon that read:
“It has been my honor to serve the citizens of SJC as the Commissioner from District 4 over the last 4 years. With all of the ballots now officially accounted for, it appears my campaign has come up short. Therefore, I am not seeking a recount in my race for St. Johns County Commission District 4. I appreciate the hard work of the elections staff during this cycle.”
Oakes presented candidate Blocker’s letter during the Canvassing Board meeting on Saturday, and “respecting candidate Blocker’s request and rights,” the Canvassing Board then rescinded the recount order.
That means all results in the St. Johns County’s 2022 Primary Election are now final and have been certified to the Division of Elections.
Keating-Joseph will face a write-in candidate in the General Election on Nov. 8, 2022.