Incumbent Jeff Brower was narrowly elected to another term as Chair of the Volusia County Council on Tuesday, defeating challenger Randy Dye after a hard-fought campaign that came down to the final stretch. Brower took home the victory with 51.42% of the vote, compared to Dye’s 48.58%. Brower amassed 139,142 overall, beating out Dye’s 131,473.
With his election win Tuesday, Brower has secured his second four-year term helming the Volusia County Council, keeping him in office until 2028. Dye has never held elected office before, and though his first campaign was competitive, it was not enough to oust the incumbent Brower.
The campaigns of the two men painted them as representing opposite factions of Volusia County residents. Brower heavily leaned into being the everyman’s candidate, and claimed he was the best choice to limit excessive or harmful development. Subsequently, he attempted to portray Dye as being in the pocket of powerful developers and insurance agencies.
Dye, on the other hand, played up his deep roots in Volusia County, where he’s become among the area’s most successful businessmen as a car dealership owner. He’s also received support from beloved names in the local racing community, such as NASCAR drivers Michael Waltrip and Rusty Wallace. Dye’s business savvy enabled him to pick up over four times as much cash-on-hand as Brower; Dye’s contributions totaled $471.2k as of Tuesday morning against Brower’s $103.3k. Even in a full four-year term, Dye’s contributions well exceed what he’d have made in his county salary.
The two candidates advanced to the general election by placing top two in the August primary election, where they faced two challengers. Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette and former County Council and School Board Deb Denys also filed to run, ultimately amassing 12.80% and 17.38% of the vote respectively. Brower had easily the most votes in August, with 42.10% compared to Dye’s 27.71%. When no August candidate exceeds 50.0%, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff election in November.
