By Dawn Krebs
dkrebs@hometownnewsol.com
FORT PIERCE - It looks like the residents of Fort Pierce will have one more chance to choose the next mayor and county commissioner.
The races for the District 1 commission seat and the mayor's seat both ended with not one, but two candidates.
That's because in those races, a candidate would have had to receive more than 50 percent of the vote to be declared the winner of that race. Since that did not happen in those races, the two candidates in each race who received the highest votes will move onto the Nov. 6 general election.
In the Fort Pierce mayor's race, six candidates were narrowed to two: Vince Gaskin and Linda Hudson.
The candidate receiving the most votes was Mr. Gaskin with 1,638 or 28.35 percent.
Ms. Hudson was the next candidate to receive the most votes with 1,380 or 23.89 percent.
The winner in November will replace current Mayor Bob Benton, who is running for a spot on the St. Lucie County Commission.
Also headed for a run-off against each other are incumbent Commissioner Reginald Sessions and R. Duke Nelson, for the District 1 seat.
Mr. Sessions received 1,136 votes or 49.05 percent. But because he earned less than 50 percent of the vote, he will face off against the second-highest vote getter, Mr. Nelson, who received 686 votes, or 29.62 percent.
Alfredia Wilder-Agnew was the third person on the ballot for the seat and she earned 494 votes or 21.33 percent.