Collier County Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier wins.

Melissa Blazier, a Collier County Supervisor of Elections appointee, has won a heated race to keep her job, defeating two opponents.

Following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ nomination, Blazier, 46, took over as president in May 2023 and received 48.5% of the vote (20,726 votes).

The Collier County Republican Party endorsed Dave Schaffel, 63, who received 14,881 votes and 34.8% of the vote, according to a recent article by Liz Freeman of Naples Daily News.

Tim Guerrette, a retired Collier County sheriff’s operations director, finished third with 16.8% of the vote, or 7,165 votes.

Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Blazier to the position in May 2023, following the retirement of Jennifer Edwards, a 23-year veteran.

Blazier expressed his gratitude for the Collier County voters’ support. “It was a rough and nasty campaign, and I am happy to put it behind me.”

She believes that her opponents’ mudslinging turned off some voters, although her focus on the issues helped her.

“I had direct feedback from some voters who were disgusted. This is not who we are in Collier County. It didn’t need to be this intimate.”

All that remains in the way after Tuesday’s outcome is Edward Joseph Gubala, a write-in candidate on the Nov. 5 ballot who has been accused of being a “ghost” candidate in order to limit the primary to Republican votes.

Blazier intended to spend election night at the supervisor’s office, observing the results until around 8:30 p.m., before heading to her campaign event at Stix Sushi in East Naples.

Schaffel was at Seed to Table in North Naples, observing the results.

Guerrette was flanked by fans on election night at Cosmos Restaurant, near downtown Naples.

Blazier and Schaffel claim Gubala ran as a “ghost candidate” in order to limit the primary election to registered Republicans and benefit Guerrette, a friend. Guerrette denied any involvement.

The office of elections supervisor, which pays $177,000 every year, has not appeared on the Collier ballot in decades, and the three-way primary has been acrimonious for months.

Neither Guerrette nor Schaffel, who have backgrounds in computer technology, have any expertise organizing elections, but both have stated that the office has been mishandled and the voting system is prone to fraud.

Guerrette and Schaffel claimed that Blazier was unqualified for the position, despite serving 18 years in the supervisor’s office and rising to the No. 2 seat as chief deputy supervisor in 2013.

Each county’s supervisor updates voter registration information, puts new voter registrations into the statewide voter registration system, and serves as the official custodian of papers relating to elector registration and changes in voter registration status.

Blazier identified herself as a “accomplished election professional” with 18 years in office and was endorsed by Jennifer Edwards, who announced her resignation mid-term in April 2023 and advised Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint Blazier to complete the term.

Collier’s elections office has been a state leader in election administration, with protocols fine-tuned year after year and no evidence of local tampering with the 2020 poll, she added.

“I don’t need on-the-job training, and I know a lot about our voter registration and voting systems, as well as Florida election laws,” Blazier stated in a question-and-answer session with the Naples Daily News in late July.

She stated that experience and honesty are important, and that citizens deserve someone with that experience. She did not want to see that change “due to an unqualified and inexperienced person managing the office.”

Guerrette stated that he campaigned for the job out of “love for my county and community” and a desire to continue serving Collier citizens, as he has done with the sheriff’s office for more than three decades.

“Safe, secure, and ethical elections are essential if we are to retain the confidence of citizens in our constitutional Republic,” he told the Naples Daily News in late July during a question-and-answer session.

That trust in elections has waned in recent years, and I aim to do everything humanly necessary to restore it. “I will restore confidence in our local elections.”

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News