2020 Volusia County Chair election

2020 Volusia County Chair election

← 2016 August 18, 2020 November 3, 2020 2024 →

Candidate Jeff Brower Deb Denys Gerard Witman First round 45,811 44.85% 41,093 40.23% 15,246 14.93% Runoff 150,827 57.55% 111,240 42.45% Eliminated

County Chair before election Ed Kelley Nonpartisan Elected County Chair Jeff Brower Nonpartisan

The 2020 Volusia County Chair election took place on November 3, 2020, following a primary election on August 18, 2020. Incumbent County Chair Ed Kelley, who was first elected in 2016, initially announced that he would seek re-election,^[1] but ultimately declined to seek re-election to a second term.^[2]

Three candidates ran to succeed Kelley: County Councilmember Deb Denys, farmer Jeff Brower, and retiree Gerard Witman. Brower placed first in the primary, winning 45 percent of the vote to Denys's 40 percent, and they advanced to the general election. Brower defeated Denys by a wide margin, winning his first term, 58–42 percent.^[3]

Primary election

Candidates

• Jeff Brower, DeLeon Springs farmer, 2018 County Council candidate^[1]
• Deb Denys, County Councilmember^[4]
• Gerard Witman, DeLand retiree^[5]

Results

Primary election results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jeff Brower	45,811	44.85%
	Nonpartisan	Deb Denys	41,093	40.23%
	Nonpartisan	Gerard Witman	15,246	14.93%
Total votes			102,150	100.00%

Runoff election

Results

2020 Volusia County Chair election results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jeff Brower	150,827	57.55%
	Nonpartisan	Deb Denys	111,240	42.45%
Total votes			262,067	100.00%

References

1. Wyatt, Dustin (October 9, 2019). "Volusia Chair Kelley, Brower trade election jabs". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
2. Almenas, Jarleene (January 21, 2020). "Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley ending almost two-decade-long political journey". Palm Coast Observer. Palm Coast, Florida. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
3. Harrison, Casmira (November 3, 2020). "Brower's big Volusia County chair win suggests "status quo" isn't acceptable". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
4. Harrison, Casmira (January 16, 2020). "Ed Kelley won't run for reelection to Volusia County Chair, backs Deb Denys". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. Archived from the original on January 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
5. Harper, Mark (June 7, 2020). "New Volusia County Chair candidate emerges". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
6. "2020 Primary Election - August 18, 2020" (PDF). Volusia County Supervisor of Elections. August 21, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
7. "2020 General Election - 11/03/2020" (PDF). Volusia County Supervisor of Elections. November 13, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2025.