The phrase “every vote counts” has never been more true than in Horizon West.

Write-in candidate Stephen Davis received 15 votes in Tuesday’s election for District 1 Commissioner, causing a significant impact on the outcome. In a three-way non-partisan election, a candidate must secure 50% +1 vote to outright win during the primary. With only a 2 vote difference between Nicole Wilson and Austin Arthur, neither candidate secured enough votes to win outright. Nicole Wilson received 14,062 votes (49.98%), Austin Arthur received 14,060 votes (49.97%), and Stephen Davis received 15 (0.05%).

Since no candidate passed the vote threshold, a runoff election will be held between Nicole Wilson and Austin Arthur. The runoff will occur in November during the General Election.

Under Florida law, a recount is conducted if a candidate is defeated with less than 0.5% of the vote. Since Stephen Davis was defeated with a much larger margin, a recount will not be conducted.

During the election Arthur’s campaign spent $182,654 ($12.98 per vote) compared to Wilson’s expenses of $37,993 ($2.70 per vote). Austin Arthur has $92,627 remaining on hand, compared to $10,815 remaining for Nicole Wilson.

Before becoming a candidate, Stephen Davis attended Austin Arthur’s launch rally representing Goliath Ventures, which donated $1,000 to the campaign. In October 2023, the campaign paid $250 for Austin Arthur to be a guest on Davis’ podcast; Raising Alphas Project. Both Austin Arthur and Nicole Wilson were asked about the suspicious entry into the race during the District 1 Debate.

In 2020, write-in candidate Hannah Burns, who is related to former Commissioner Scott Boyd, also ran as a write-in candidate in an attempt to help re-elect Betsy VanderLey. The last minute maneuver backfired and VanderLey lost to current Commissioner Nicole Wilson.

Davis did not run an active campaign, did not raise funds, and did not have any expenses.

Voters now have several additional months to learn about both Nicole Wilson and Austin Arthur.