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Sarasota Analysis: GOP wins overall but Democrats win Absentee Ballot votes in Marquee Races

November 10, 2014/1 Comment/in News /by Richard

In my continuing series analyzing the Sarasota County November 2014 election results, I have focused on the Governor’s race and the School Board race.

One interesting trend, however, is not just who wins but who wins the portion of the votes cast via Absentee Ballot, Early Voting, and on Election Day.

Absentee ballots have largely been thought of to be a source of strength for the Republican candidates statewide, but the numbers in the November 2014 elections in Sarasota may show the opposite trend locally. In all of the most hotly contested countywide races, the Democratic candidate won the absentee ballot vote. In some of the other races, even where the Republican candidate won by a solid amount, the Democrat did much better and even won the absentee ballot vote in one case. We won’t know the breakdown of how many Republicans, Democrats, and Independents actually voted until about 30 days after the election – for now we just know the vote totals.

Conversely, Republicans won the Early Vote in all of these races and won the Election Day vote by the most outsized margins.

In the Governor’s race, Charlie Crist actually received 27,265 Absentee votes to Scott’s 24,516.

Sarasota Governor’s Race Breakdown, via Sarasota Supervisor of Elections Website, as of November 9, 2014

In the hotly contested School Board race between Ken Marsh (Democrat) and Bridget Ziegler (Republican), Marsh received 23,985 Absentee ballot votes to Ziegler’s 21,653 votes.

Marsh v. Ziegler Vote Breakdown

You can see this pattern in the less hotly contested countywide races. In the Charter Review Board race, Republican Joe Justice won overall with 54% to Jennifer Cohen’s 46%. But Cohen (24,759) received slightly more Absentee votes than Justice (24,210).

Justice v Cohen Vote Breakdown

Even in the County Commission race between Republican Alan Maio and Democrat Ray Porter, where Maio won a decisive victory, Porter did much better in the Absentee portion of the vote than in the Early Votes or Election Day votes.

Maio v Porter vote Breakdown

“North/South Divide” in Sarasota Continues in Election 2014

November 8, 2014/3 Comments/in News /by Richard

Sarasota County Precinct Results for 2014 Governor’s Race with Clark Road Division Marked

I’ve been doing some analyses of the Election 2014 results in Sarasota County. Back in August, Jeremy Wallace, of the Sarasota Herald Tribune, wrote about the “North/South Divide” between voters in Sarasota county.

This trend has continued in the November 2014 elections and is visible in the Governor’s race election. Continuing a trend in the Governor’s races, Sarasota results were slightly closer, with the margin for the Republican candidate (Rick Scott) only outpacing the Democratic candidate (Charlie Crist) by about 5,000 votes. Compared to the 2010 results, the Democratic candidate (Crist) improved his margin by about 1,500 votes.

Analyzing the North of Clark Road precincts, the results are:

Scott: 45.76%
Crist: 48.77%

South of Clark Road precincts:
Scott: 50.90%
Crist: 43.03%

Countywide
Scott: 48.63%
Crist: 45.56%

Scott performed 5.14% better South of Clark than North of Clark
Crist performed 5.75% better North of Clark than South of Clark

So the divide holds where North of Clark is the more Democrat friendly part of Sarasota County and South of Clark is more Republican friendly.

Click here to see the spreadsheet attached, analyzing the precincts using numbers from the County Supervisor of Elections taken on 11/7/2014.

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About Richard DeNapoli

A native of Hollywood, Florida, Richard DeNapoli is passionate about law, estate planning, financial planning, real estate and the relationships he has formed through helping others in these areas.

In addition to being a Licensed Attorney, Realtor, Mortgage Broker and Notary, Richard has also been successful in obtaining his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification. He worked as a Trust and Investment Officer for five years at Northern Trust on a team with $1.8 Billion assets under management providing services to high net worth individuals.

Richard DeNapoli is a native of Hollywood, FL, and a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law (2008, LL.M., Estate Planning), Fordham Law School (2002, J.D.) and New York University (1999, B.A., Politics; B.A. Italian). He was the first person in his family to attend college. He is licensed to practice law in Florida and in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

In 2007, Richard DeNapoli was appointed as a Commissioner to the Florida Real Estate Commission (“FREC”), and subsequently reappointed when that term was up. Both of his appointments to the FREC were confirmed by the Florida Senate.

He was unanimously elected to serve as the Chairman of the Florida Real Estate Commission from 2010-2011, and he continues to serve on the Commission today. Richard also served as the Treasurer of the Broward Republican Party in 2010, and then as Chairman of the Broward County Republican Party through December of 2012. For more than 15 years, Richard has volunteered in various capacities for Republican candidates in New York and Florida.

Recently, Richard has been focusing on his professional career and on his family. Richard is married to Brigita, and they welcomed a new addition to their family, Victor Alfred DeNapoli, who was born in August 2012.

False Attacks on Richard DeNapoli’s Military Record

July 22, 2014/0 Comments/in News /by Richard

My opponent in the Republican primary for House District 74 has leveled a series of false attacks against me during the campaign. Today, he reached a new low.

In a press release entitled “STOLEN HONOR: DENAPOLI MAKES FALSE CLAIM THAT HE SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS ,” he relies upon dubious third-party sources with false information to claim that I lied about being in the Unites States Marine Corps Officer Candidate School.

We provided my military records to the local newspaper to prove these accusations to be false, and the Sarasota Herald Tribune ran a story wherein they wrote as follows:

“Republican Florida House candidate Julio Gonzalez is accusing his GOP rival of lying about his military service, the latest salvo in an increasingly heated primary election battle.

But his opponent, Richard DeNapoli, says the charge is false, underscoring how desperate and “beyond the pale” Gonzalez has become in their House District 74 race.

At issue is DeNapoli’s 2002 attempt to join the U.S. Marines after he graduated from law school. DeNapoli said that instead of entering private practice he tried to become a lawyer with the Marine Corps.

Government records show DeNapoli enlisted on Oct. 3, 2002 and was sent to Quantico, Virginia, for Marine Corps officer training.

But DeNapoli said in an interview that his body gave out after just four months. He was hospitalized with hypothermia, ending his hopes of military service. He was disenrolled from the program on Feb. 25, 2003, records show.

…

Gonzalez’s press release says DeNapoli’s training was “a mere 3 day camp” that DeNapoli has inflated — though Department of Defense records confirm DeNapoli was in “active duty for training” from Jan. 19 to Feb. 10 with the Marines.”

Though my opponent’s accusations were proven by government records to be false, he has continued his false attacks and has not apologized for his smears against my character.

See our campaign mailer refuting these false attacks.

Republican Richard DeNapoli Submits Petitions to Qualify for the Ballot

March 11, 2014/0 Comments/in News /by Richard

DENAPOLI SUBMITS MORE THAN ENOUGH PETITIONS TO QUALIFY FOR THE BALLOT

First Candidate in District 74 to Submit Petitions to Reach the Required 1,154 to Qualify

Nokomis, FL – Today, businessman, former prosecutor, and Republican Party leader, Richard DeNapoli, announced he will submit petitions to qualify for the November ballot. DeNapoli becomes the only candidate in District 74 to submit enough petitions to qualify.

Upon announcing his petition submission, Richard DeNapoli said,

“Our team reached this goal today through direct voter contact. Each voter who signed a petition was contacted by someone from our team and chose to sign. It is a testament to hard work, a positive message, and a firm grasp on the issues important to voters that this milestone was achieved. The overwhelming show of support – both at the grassroots through petitions and financially – is very energizing. Voters know, as do I, that the election is not the end of the work but the first step to securing Florida’s financial, educational, and health care future. I thank all of those who signed petitions and am honored by their support.”

A native of Florida, Richard DeNapoli is a Licensed Attorney, Realtor, Mortgage Broker and Notary, Richard has also been successful in obtaining his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification. He worked as a Trust and Investment Officer for five years at Northern Trust on a team with $1.8 Billion assets under management providing trust and investment services to individuals and families.

Richard DeNapoli is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, Fordham Law School, and New York University. He is licensed to practice law in Florida and in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

In 2007, Richard DeNapoli was appointed as a Commissioner to the Florida Real Estate Commission (“FREC”) and subsequently reappointed when that term was up. Both of his appointments to the FREC were confirmed by the Florida Senate.

He was unanimously elected to serve as the Chairman of the Florida Real Estate Commission from 2010-2011, and he continued to serve on the Commission for over six years through the end of his term in December 2013. Richard also served as the Treasurer and Chairman of the Broward Republican Party.

Recently, Richard has been focusing on his professional career and on his family. Richard is married to Brigita, and they welcomed a new addition to their family, Victor DeNapoli, who was born in August 2012.

Richard DeNapoli Attends Sarasota Arts and Cultural Alliance Celebration

October 21, 2013/0 Comments/in News /by Richard

Richard DeNapoli and Kumar Mahadevan at the Sarasota Arts and Cultural Alliance Celebration. Photo Courtesy Sarasota Magazine

Today I had the pleasure of attending the Sarasota Arts and Cultural Alliance Celebration at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

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A native of Florida, Richard DeNapoli is a Licensed Attorney, Realtor, Mortgage Broker and Notary, Richard has also been successful in obtaining his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification.

He worked as a Trust and Investment Officer for five years at Northern Trust on a team with $1.8 Billion assets under management providing services to high net worth individuals. Richard DeNapoli is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, Fordham Law School, and New York University. He is licensed to practice law in Florida and in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In 2007, Richard DeNapoli was appointed as a Commissioner to the Florida Real Estate Commission and subsequently reappointed when that term was up. Both of his appointments to the FREC were confirmed by the Florida Senate.

He was unanimously elected to serve as the Chairman of the Florida Real Estate Commission from 2010- 2011, and he continues to serve on the Commission today. Richard also served as the Treasurer of the Broward Republican Party in 2010, and then as Chairman of the Broward County Republican Party through December of 2012. Recently, Richard has been focusing on his professional career and on his family. Richard is married to Brigita, and they welcomed a new addition to their family, Victor DeNapoli, who was born in August 2012.

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Richard DeNapoli at the Sarasota Statesman of the Year Event

September 28, 2013/0 Comments/in News /by Richard

Last night I attended the Sarasota Statesman of the Year Event featuring Sean Hannity, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CFO Jeff Atwater, and Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. It was an amazing event with over 1600 people in attendance. Kudos to Chairman Joe Gruters and the team at the Sarasota GOP.

Picture of the Crowd – Care of Sarasota GOP

Richard DeNapoli at the Sarasota Statesman of the Year Event with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, and CFO Jeff Atwater

Excerpt from the Sarasota Herald Tribune, :

…More than 1,600 people packed the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall to watch Hannity receive the Sarasota Republican Party’s annual statesman of the year award.

Hannity also gave his most detailed explanation yet for why his popular television program is moving to another time. And he fired up the crowd by trashing President Barack Obama’s health care reforms and cheering on a potential government shutdown.

“We should be so lucky,” Hannity said of a shutdown, which could begin Tuesday if Congress does not pass a bill to keep the government funded. “There’s one day we don’t have to pay taxes, anyway.”

To a loud ovation, Hannity praised the work of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who spoke all night on the Senate floor earlier in the week in a bid to defund the Affordable Care Act. He said health care reform has put the U.S. on a path to socialism and will increase the cost of care for many of the very same people it’s supposed to help.

Said Hannity: “Everybody knows Obamacare is bad.”

Hannity said Cruz’s efforts, along with those of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, show that the Republican Party has a bright future.

“What I think happened this week is the emergence of a revitalized Republican Party standing on conservative principles that, if we follow them, it will lead to great success,” Hannity said.

With key provisions of the Affordable Care Act set to go into effect on Tuesday, Republicans such as Cruz and Rubio have declared this their best chance to defund it. But that has created turmoil within Republican ranks from those who fear the strategy won’t work and could hurt Republicans.

Hannity had harsh words for those Republicans. He singled out Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., for attacking Cruz. Hannity said his message to Republicans is this: Fund Obamacare, and you own it.

Hannity’s 45-minute appearance in the region is yet another signal of Sarasota’s significance to the national Republican Party, said Sarasota County GOP chairman Joe Gruters. Over the last two years, Republican leaders including Donald Trump, Herman Cain, Haley Barbour, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have visited Sarasota County and met with GOP activists.

Gruters said the more success Sarasota has in assembling big audiences, the more it gets the word out that Sarasota is a must-visit community for conservative leaders and future presidential candidates.

Hannity typically commands up to $100,000 in speaking fees, according to media reports. But Gruters said Hannity came to Sarasota for nominal travel costs because of the county’s reputation. He said it certainly didn’t hurt that Trump spoke to 1,000 people a year ago at the 2012 statesman event.

Hannity, who owns a home in Naples, told the Sarasota audience he feels like a neighbor and plans to one day retire in Southwest Florida. Twice during his speech, he hinted at a potential future run for statewide office.

Hannity also said that his highly rated show’s shift from 9 p.m. to 10 starting next month was because he has “not been home for dinner for all of these years.”

He said he was looking for a more flexible schedule that would enable him to be home more often.

“I wasn’t gong to continue on Fox, to be honest,” Hannity said, “because I didn’t think I could do it and still be a father.”

Hannity has been on Fox News since 1996.

His “Hannity” program is the second-highest-rated cable news program in the country after “The O’Reilly Factor,” also on Fox News.

Hannity said Fox has built a studio in his home and given him the authority to tape more of his shows to accommodate his family.

Richard DeNapoli Makes Moves, Gets Support in House Race

August 11, 2013/0 Comments/in News /by Richard

Richard DeNapoli Makes Moves, Gets Support in House Race

By: ALLISON NIELSEN | Posted: August 7, 2013 3:55 AM, Originally featured here in Sunshine State News

As suddenly as he jumped into a new county in a new district, Richard DeNapoli hopped into the race to replace Rep. Doug Holder in Florida House District 74 Monday, and he’s already making waves and gaining support from GOP representatives across the state.

HD 74, which covers most of Sarasota County, will soon need a new representative because Holder faces term limits. Holder has served the district since 2007. DeNapoli, on the other hand, has been living across-state in Broward County.

Born and raised in Hollywood, DeNapoli left the Sunshine State briefly to attend Fordham Law School in New York City. He returned to South Florida to attend the University of Miami, where he received his master’s degree in estate planning in 2008.
DeNapoli was appointed a commissioner in the Florida Real Estate Commission in 2007, and was reappointed and confirmed by the Florida Senate.

He stepped on the scene in Florida politics when he became treasurer of the Broward County Republican Party in 2010 and was later elected chair in December 2012. He became well-known as a strong Republican Party fundraiser, and has been lauded by conservatives for his work to boost party development and fundraise in Broward County.

Yet, despite his successes in the second-largest county in the state, DeNapoli packed his bags and left South Florida to move to Sarasota County with his family this year. He told Sunshine State News he moved to the west coast because it’s “a beautiful place to live, work, and raise a family.”

DeNapoli decided to get into the race after speaking with friends, family and people in the Sarasota community.

“I talked to a lot of local people,” he said.

He said he not only brings experience, but focus to the race.

“I’m an attorney and a financial planner. I like focusing on results. We’ve got a lot of serious issues facing our state going forward,” DeNapoli explained. “I think we need to maintain conservative principles that Governor Scott’s administration is putting forward over the last few years. We need to keep Florida on that track.”

Other state representatives have taken notice of DeNapoli’s intentions to run and have jumped onboard to endorse him in the race for the Florida House. Rep. Ray Pilon, R-Sarasota, and Rep. George Moraitis, R-Fort Lauderdale, both had warm words of praise for DeNapoli and his conservative values.

“Richard DeNapoli is a true conservative who Sarasota residents can count on to keep Florida on the road to economic prosperity. He’s an intelligent, common-sense conservative who won’t back down from his principles,” said Rep. Moraitis.”Richard DeNapoli’s experience in retirement security, financial planning, and Florida law make him well-suited to protect Florida’s seniors and their issues in Tallahassee. He’d make a great partner to work with in Tallahassee when it comes to protecting Sarasota County and its citizens,” Rep. Pilon said.

Click here to read the rest of this piece on Sunshine State News

Richard DeNapoli Will Run for House District 74

August 6, 2013/0 Comments/in News /by Richard

BY: ALLISON NIELSEN | Posted: August 5, 2013 10:35 AM, Sunshine State News

Attorney, financial planner and successful leader of the Broward GOP Party, Richard DeNapoli announced Monday he’s planning on making a run for the Florida House District 74 seat, which covers most of Sarasota County and is currently held by Rep. Doug Holder. Holder faces term limits.

“From property insurance to Medicaid and from education to pensions, Florida faces serious challenges that require methodical and thoughtful planning,” said DeNapoli. “I’ve spent my entire career assisting moms, dads, seniors, and working Americans plan for the future. I intend to use that experience to help meet the challenges facing Florida’s future.”

To read the full article, click here.