District 5 was anyone's race after County Commissioner Kristin Dozier filled to run against Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey.

On Tuesday, roughly a quarter of the votes in a razor-thin race went to all four candidates vying for the seat. Political newcomers David O'Keefe and Paula DeBoles-Johnson amassed enough votes to qualify for a run-off in November's general election. 

O'Keefe is an anti-establishment voice and a part of new wave of progressive candidates determined to shatter perceptions of public distrust in local government. DeBoles Johnson, meanwhile, says she's "neither a newcomer nor an outsider" and says she's motivated to solve "a scary increase in crime; a chronic inability to eradicate hunger and poverty; lopsided economic funding formulas; and a shortage of affordable housing." 

More:I’m not a newcomer. I’m here for the challenge. | Paula DeBoles-Johnson

With just over 17,619 votes, unofficial votes are in from all 32 precincts reporting in the District 5 County Commission race.

The tight race shows David O’Keefe led the pack with 27.40% of the votes, followed by Paula DeBoles-Johnson with 25.97%, Dustin Rivest at 23.94% and Jay Revell at 22.69%. 

More results:Florida primary election 2022: See live results from Tallahassee, Leon County voters

O'Keefe, a certified public accountant who most recently served as CFO of WFSU, stressed a need to follow the money in local politics throughout the campaign. He said Tallahassee hasn't rooted out its corruption issues that clouded transparency and the public's trust in local government. 

He said he was heartened by the show of support from voters, adding he believes the thing District 5 residents should be focused on are priorities they're already paying attention to with laser focus. 

"These voters are smart, and it's confirming what I thought," said O'Keefe, adding voters were "seeing through" some of the old ways of local politics. "I'm pushing towards November, getting our message in front of every voter that's going to show up on November 8. When we get elected, we can hit the ground running on tackling the No. 1 issue facing our community, which is affordable housing."

DeBoles-Johnson wears two professional hats, one as Leon County's employee engagement and performance manager and executive director of the Capital City Youth Development Corporation, a nonprofit she founded in 2003.

She said she was thrilled and grateful by the support for her campaign. 

"I am and we've been surrounded by friends and family all night," DeBoles-Johnson said. "The success of this Primary Election is really due to the hard working residents of Leon County. I'd really, really like to thank everyone that was with Paula, and our grassroots movement continues into November."

Rivest was unavailable to offer a reaction to Tuesday night's results.  

Revell, who owns Revell Media, a public relations firm, had the most political experience of all the candidates.

He previously served as an aide for John Dailey when he was a Leon County commissioner and an executive director of the Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority before becoming vice president of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. 

"You know, we're disappointed in the outcome tonight," Revell admitted. "But still, I spent my whole career working to try to make Tallahassee, Leon County a better place. We'll wake up tomorrow morning, and we'll do the same thing again."

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter. 

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