CRESTVIEW, Fla — Following a weekend recount, Mel Ponder has been officially confirmed as the Republican nominee for Okaloosa County Commissioner District 5.
Ponder defeated Dewey “Parker” Destin by 150 votes. The recount was set in motion by state law, which mandates a recount when the margin of victory is less than .5 percent. Ponder finished with just under a .5 percent lead, 13,637 votes to Destin’s 13,487. The other Republican candidate in the race, Rich Johnson, received 3,542 votes.
The recount concluded on Sunday and ended with no changes in numbers.
Ponder now faces Wes Fell in the General Election on November 3. Fell is running as a non-party affiliated candidate.
In the two other county commissioner races, the winners were Republicans Paul Mixon and Nathan Boyles. Mixon won the County Commissioner District 1 race over former County Commissioner Wayne Harris and businessman James Walker.
Boyles easily bested challenger Brad Roehrig to keep his District 3 seat.
