Democrat Tyrona Clark-Murray and Republican Mike Muldoon will face off in a May 16 runoff for Jacksonville’s City Council District 9 after no candidate in the crowded race received enough of the vote to win a majority.
The election was Jacksonville City Councilwoman Clark-Murray‘s first test after winning a special election last August, and she drew one Republican and four Democratic challengers.
Celestine Mills works at Healthy Start, and Kamren Stowers is a firefighter. Shanna Carter runs a nonprofit, and TaNita Noisette-Woods volunteers. Incumbent Clark-Murray works with students with disabilities at duPont Middle School.
Retired accountant Muldoon, who initially was running for a Republican-leaning City Council District 14 before it was struck down by a federal court as a racial gerrymander, has far outraised any other candidate: hauling in about $150,000 as of last month. All of the other candidates had raised less than $15,000.
While the district is heavily Democratic, Gov. Ron DeSantis came close to winning the most votes in the district last November, coming up short in the area by five percentage points.
Read More: Jacksonville City Council District 9: Five vie to beat Tyrona Clark-Murray