George Kruse defeats Ed Hunzeker in GOP primary for seat on Manatee County Commission
George Kruse came out on top in the contentious race for the District 7 at-large seat on the Manatee Board of County Commissioners.
With votes from 67 of 70 precincts counted, Kruse had 20,751 votes, or 57 percent of the ballots, defeating former county administrator Ed Hunzeker, who received 15,417 votes, by 14 percentage points.
“That was a strong showing and it feels great,” Kruse told the Bradenton Herald on Tuesday evening. “As I’ve been saying this whole time, I was running for everybody and I think that resonated. People wanted a voice and I gave it to them during this campaign.”
Because a write-in candidate qualified for the race, only registered Republicans were allowed to cast a vote in Tuesday’s primary.
Kruse, a political newcomer, leaned into his inexperience when it comes to running a local government. He said he hopes to bring an enterprise, small business approach to the board. Kruse was endorsed by incumbent commissioners Stephen Jonsson and Vanessa Baugh.
In campaign appearances, Kruse marketed himself as a true conservative who understands the needs of everyday residents and business owners.
“What we’ve got on our board right now is a lot of planners and politicians. We don’t have a true private-sector view,” Kruse previously told the Bradenton Herald.
Kruse said his top campaign priorities were attracting affordable housing developments, protecting water quality and fixing traffic problems.
Hunzeker previously served as county administrator from 2006 to 2019, and earned the support of incumbent commissioners Betsy Benac and Carol Whitmore. Hunzeker said he enjoyed his time on the administrative side of the government but looked forward to making policy decisions as a commissioner.
Some of Hunzeker’s ideas included putting together a plan for improving Manatee County’s roads, providing more county services out east and funding water quality improvements without raising taxes.
Both candidates launched negative campaign advertisements and social media posts to attack one another. In a campaign video, released in July, Kruse said Hunzeker was “too liberal” for Manatee County.
“This is my first race. I couldn’t have done it myself. I did it because there’s a lot of people from all over Manatee that worked together to make sure we as a community won this race,” Kruse said. “It was a tough race. Honestly, I’m just proud of Manatee County.”
Kruse name will face write-in candidate Thomas Dell in the Nov. 3 General Election.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 7:47 PM.
