As the votes came in, the watch party for Rhett Rowell came more alive. With nearly 100% of the votes tallied, Rowell, a Jay resident who campaigned on improving roads and drainage and preserving farmland, gave a victory speech thanking his supporters across Santa Rosa County.
Rowell won the Republican primary for district three on Tuesday night in a three-way race with incumbent James Calkins and community activist Jerry Couey. Rowell has made a name for himself as an educator and coach at Jay High School.
Rowell received 12,056 votes (43.45% of the vote), while his opponents Calkins and Couey received 7,751 votes (27.93% of the vote) and 7,942 (28.62% of the vote) respectively. He will face write-ins Sandra Maddox and Patrick Eugene Brown in November, but there is no democratic competition.
“(I’m) just thankful for the support from the north end to the south end of the county,” Rowell said. “I’m just overwhelmed by the support. For the last year and a half, it just kept building and building. I am very humbled by that.”
Calkins was humble in defeat.
“The people of Santa Rosa County have spoken, and I fully respect the results, and I wish the winner success, Rhett Rowell,” Calkins said. “I hope and pray that he does a great job for Santa Rosa County. He will have my support for transition, and I wish him well. It was such an honor to serve the citizens of Santa Rosa County, and I’m very grateful for serving for four years and doing a lot of conservative things in Santa Rosa County.”
Calkins said he had tried to reach Rowell to tell him congratulations but understood he probably had many calls Tuesday night. He said that as a commissioner he stopped focusing on his real estate and other parts of the business world but could refocus those efforts.
“Not being a commissioner, I will be able to focus on my family, focus on my business and I also want to remain committed to helping President Trump win, volunteering for campaigns and those kinds of things,” Calkins said. “I am passionate about the conservative movement, passionate about our nation, passionate about our country. I’m going to do everything I can to fight for our country forever.”
Couey could not immediately be reached for comment.
