Kruse won a big Manatee commission primary election, but he still has one more vote to go

Political newcomer George Kruse won a smashing primary victory Aug. 18 in his quest for the District 7 (at-large) Manatee County Commission seat, following a race that was full of unexpected twists and turns.

Kruse defeated Ed Hunzeker, former Manatee County administrator, with 57 percent of the vote. It was an overwhelming victory: 21,184 votes for Kruse to 15,715 votes for Hunzeker.

Kruse brought a finance and real estate resume to the race, along with service on Bradenton Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and membership with the Bradenton Kiwanis Club and the Manatee Chamber of Commerce.

Hunzeker brought decades of experience as a government insider. He also outspent Kruse, $136,818 to $94,257.

“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,” Kruse said on election night.

Neither Kruse nor Hunzeker set out to be the at-large county commissioner. Not until incumbent Betsy Benac announced that she would not be seeking re-election.

Previously, Hunzeker had filed to run against District five incumbent Vanessa Baugh to represent southeast Manatee and Kruse had filed to run against District 1 incumbent Priscilla Whisnant Trace to represent northeast Manatee.

When Benac announced she would not seek reelection, Hunzeker and Kruse moved into the vacuum, seeking to represent all of Manatee. Eventually a third Republican candidate, Paul Finer withdrew, making it a two-candidate race.

Yet, Kruse is still not a county commissioner-elect, not technically. He faces a write-in opponent, Thomas Whitten Dell, during the general election Nov. 3.

Dell has not raised or spent any funds on his campaign, according to the Supervisor of Elections web site. Efforts to reach Dell for comment were unsuccessful.

Kruse knows that such a low-profile candidate whose name won’t appear on the ballot represents no threat to his candidacy.

“The reality is that the race was over in the primary. I have the flexibility of time,” Kruse said of his efforts to learn all he can about county issues and problems before taking office.

“I am spending my time in preparation for November. I am meeting with people in the community and digging into the budget,” Kruse said.

Among those he has been speaking to are district fire officials in Parrish who are trying to expand services to better serve the fast-growing community, and in Lakewood Ranch and Myakka City as the Myakka Fire District and East Manatee Fire District prepare to merge.

This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.