Mandarin families will choose their next school board representative in November after no candidate cleared 50% in the District 6 primary on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

The same outcome played out across all three open Duval County School Board seats. Districts 2, 4 and 6 will each send two candidates to runoff elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to unofficial results reported by the Florida Trib and the Duval County Supervisor of Elections. Countywide turnout was 23.34%, with 150,739 of 645,955 registered voters casting ballots.

District 6: Denmark and James Advance in Mandarin's Costly Race

Realtor Lindsey Denmark, 41, led the five-candidate District 6 field with 34% of the vote. Duval County school police Sgt. Clarence "CJ" James, 54, finished second with 21%. The two will meet again on the November ballot.

The seat is being vacated by board member Charlotte Joyce, who is term-limited after holding it since 2018. Joyce endorsed Denmark.

District 6 was the third-most expensive school board race in Florida this cycle, with all five candidates raising a combined $208,000, the Florida Trib reported. James alone raised more than $100,000, backed by the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police and Jacksonville Association of Firefighters. Denmark drew endorsements from Joyce, Board Vice Chair April Carney and state Sen. Clay Yarborough.

Both candidates campaigned on school safety. "We can't have over 1,000 fights a year in our schools. We can't [have] almost 400 teachers assaulted a year," James told News4Jax in July. District officials have said they are unfamiliar with the specific numbers each candidate cites, and Florida Department of Education data shows fighting across Duval schools has declined over the past five years.

Under the redrawn District 6 map, Democrats slightly outnumber Republicans, and 47% of voters are white, down from 62% under the previous boundaries.

District 2: Bradley Falls Just Short of Outright Win

Donovan Bradley, a Jacksonville native and Duval County Public Schools graduate, took 49% of the vote, just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Former Fletcher High marine science teacher Donna Westrich finished second with 39%.

Bradley raised $61,934 and holds endorsements from board members Carney, Melody Bolduc and Reginald Blount, plus City Council member Rory Diamond and the Fraternal Order of Police. Westrich, a 20-year classroom veteran with two sons in public schools, will try to close the gap by November.

The seat is being vacated by Moms for Liberty-backed Vice Chair April Carney.

District 4: Jacobs Outpaces Butler Despite Fundraising Gap

James "Coach" Jacobs, a dean of students at Duval County Charter School at Westside, won 39% of the vote on a shoestring $11,203 budget. He will face Rhodesia Butler, an area director for the Boys & Girls Club of Jacksonville and former assistant principal with 21 years in education, who raised nearly $20,000.

Both are registered Democrats, though Jacobs is endorsed by Republican City Council member Matt Carlucci.

What's at Stake: Board's Conservative Majority Could Shift

The board currently holds a strong conservative majority, with Moms for Liberty-backed members in five of seven seats. With Carney and Joyce both departing, the November results could shift that alignment as the district faces a $15 million operating revenue decrease, declining enrollment and ongoing debates over book removals from school libraries.

The Duval County School Board's next scheduled public meeting is Sept. 10, when members will adopt the final 2026-27 budget and millage rates. The Nov. 3 general election will decide all three runoffs.