In a combative election campaign marked by election complaints, public disputes, and late-campaign bombshell allegations, Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter is on her way to defeating challenger Elizabeth Accomando for Palm Beach County Commission District 6 in the Republican primary race on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
With 97% of precincts reporting, Baxter had 59.7% of the vote, to Accomando’s 40.3%.
The winner of the Accomando-Baxter race will face Katherine Waldron, who won the District 6 Democratic primary.
District 6 is a sprawling western district that includes Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Westlake, Loxahatchee Groves, The Acreage and the Glades.
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Accomando, 59, from Loxahatchee, is the president of the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors, founder of Barky Pines Animal Rescue & Sanctuary and is a business owner. Her campaign priorities include managed growth, infrastructure, people over power and privilege, affordability and transparency.
Baxter is currently the county mayor and was elected to the County Commission in 2022 as a political newcomer. A Palm Beach County native, she is a small-business owner who operates Foreign Auto Specialists with her husband, Brian.
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Before entering public office, she worked in health care as a certified retinal angiographer and later earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Palm Beach State College.
Over the past year, Baxter has been at the center of some of Palm Beach County’s highest-profile political stories. The Palm Beach Post has reported on her effort to seek a newly drawn congressional seat before reversing course, her involvement in the contentious debate over a proposed hyperscale data center in western Palm Beach County, and questions surrounding county-funded security costs.
Baxter said on her campaign website under “priorities” that “county government can do more to help residents and small businesses by streamlining the planning, zoning and permitting process, which she argues would encourage job creation and economic growth.” She also advocates lowering tax rates and fees, reducing what she describes as “wasteful spending and investing in infrastructure to improve residents’ quality of life.” She said county leaders need a different approach to development that better balances growth with preserving the character of the county’s rural and agricultural communities.
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Sara Baxter faced allegations made public just before election
On Friday, Aug. 14, The Palm Beach Post broke an exclusive story in which a former aide to Baxter accused her of pressuring the aide into a sexual relationship with “a potential wealthy donor,” according to a whistleblower complaint. When the aide refused, she was told to start looking for a new job, according to the complaint.
The complaint was filed Aug. 11, just a week before the Aug. 18 election. The whistleblower told The Palm Beach Post her motive in filing the claim is to seek justice, not political gamesmanship, but the claim is likely to polarize further what has been a divisive contest.
Baxter denied the allegation in a statement to The Post, calling the complaint a “a last-minute political smear” that she said harkens to similar attacks against President Donald Trump, who has endorsed her. To read that full story, go here.
The following day of The Post publishing the story, the Palm Beach County firefighters union pulled its endorsement of Baxter.
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A closer look at Republican candidates for County Commission District 6
District 6 candidate Elizabeth Accomando, Republican
Elizabeth Accomando, 59, from Loxahatchee, is the president of the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors, founder of Barky Pines Animal Rescue & Sanctuary and is a business owner.
Her campaign priorities include managed growth, infrastructure, people over power and privilege, affordability and transparency.
When asked in a Palm Beach Post questionnaire why voters should choose her, she replied:
“A county commissioner’s primary duty is to represent their constituents. When an incumbent drops out of a local race to run for Congress, only to reverse course days later when national political backing falls through, it signals that local office is a stepping stone rather than a true commitment.
“I have spent years managing the actual nuts, bolts, and budgets of the local systems that keep homes safe and dry. I bring immediate executive, operational experience.
“I am accessible, grounded, and running a campaign rooted in local trust rather than relying on national political endorsements to carry you across the finish line.
“As noted to residents, voters care about rising costs, traffic, and overdevelopment — issues that are solved with hard work, not a circus. i do not waver on massive local issues — such as the controversial Project Tango data center and local development density expansions.
“I have been a consistent, reliable voice listening to the community from day one, focusing on smart growth rather than reactionary politics.”
District 6 candidate Sara Baxter, Republican
Sara Baxter is currently the county mayor and was elected to the County Commission in 2022 as a political newcomer.
A Palm Beach County native, she is a small-business owner who operates Foreign Auto Specialists with her husband, Brian.
Before entering public office, she worked in health care as a certified retinal angiographer and later earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Palm Beach State College.
Over the past year, Baxter has been at the center of some of Palm Beach County’s highest-profile political stories. The Palm Beach Post has reported on her effort to seek a newly drawn congressional seat before reversing course, her involvement in the contentious debate over a proposed hyperscale data center in western Palm Beach County, and questions surrounding county-funded security costs.
Baxter did not fill out a candidate questionnaire from The Palm Beach Post.
On Baxter’s campaign website, it says under “priorities” that “county government can do more to help residents and small businesses by streamlining the planning, zoning and permitting process, which she argues would encourage job creation and economic growth.” She also advocates lowering tax rates and fees, reducing what she describes as “wasteful spending and investing in infrastructure to improve residents’ quality of life.” She said county leaders need a different approach to development that better balances growth with preserving the character of the county’s rural and agricultural communities.
This story was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Sara Baxter on way to victory amid heated campaign for Commission seat
Reporting by Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
