A short-lived candidacy raises questions about a county commission race. And the Sarasota City Commission race adds a new contender.
By Gretchen Cochran
Original Air Date: June 12, 2026
Host: Today at high noon was the filing deadline for candidates to run in the upcoming elections, and it included a last-minute surprise: the addition of a dark-horse Democrat unknown to local Democratic leaders. But the candidacy of Robert T. Miller turned out to be short-lived. Gretchen Cochran explains.
Gretchen Cochran: The jostling and jockeying have been going on for weeks. But today at noon, the post was called, and we know exactly who will be in the August 18 primary election.
At the last minute Friday, a Democrat popped on to the qualified candidates’ list running for county commissioner in District 2. His name was Robert Trent Miller.
David Dean, the Democratic Party chair in Sarasota, told WSLR News in a text that Miller “is not known to the party as far as I can tell.” Dean had no further comment.
The presence on the ballot of a Democrat in the county’s most Democratic-leaning district would have dented the re-election chances of incumbent Mark Smith. While running as a Republican, Smith has been appealing to moderates and liberal-leaning voters.
Our calls to Miller were not returned.
We also reached out to Mark Smith but did not receive a response before our deadline.
Despite declaring a net worth of just $10,000, Robert T. Miller presented a check for $6,542 to cover his filing fee. In a text to WSLR, Dean pointed out that Miller’s address is not within District 2.
Paul Donnelly is the public information officer for the Supervisor of Elections’ office. He said his office does not check such details, referring us to the county’s charter.
Then, around 3 p.m, the Supervisor of Elections’ website listed Robert T. Miller’s candidacy as “withdrawn.” What happened?
Angel Windley at the Supervisor’s office told us Robert Miller sent an email asking to be withdrawn.
In a text after our deadline Friday, Dean, the Democratic Party chair, wondered whether Miller’s short-lived candidacy might have consequences for who will be allowed to vote in the primary between Republican Smith and his Republican contender Kristina Sargent.
“Weird! I wonder if it would still be an open primary, or if that would have been enough to close it? I guess we’ll have to see what the [Supervisor of Election] says.”
In other candidate news, yesterday, another unknown slipped into the Sarasota City Commission race, and one dropped out; Jaime Loomis withdrew, and Yevgeny Khodorkovsky jumped in.
Khodorkovsky had more paperwork to file to be “qualified” so was reluctant to be interviewed. But via text, he said this about running:
Yevgeny Khodorkovsky
“I want to bring accountability and self-governance back to the commission. In recent years, City Government shifted priorities away from serving residents toward sacrificing Sarasota’s charm to development and aspiring city administrators. Latest examples are approving ‘the Obsidian’ despite vast opposition, and another disproportionate increase to the parking budget because of failures in leadership. I don’t have a personal agenda. I just want residents and businesses involved and listened to—it’s the entire purpose of home rule.”
Khodorkovsky continued in his text: “And yes, we could def]initely] use someone who understands the technology the administration has been rolling out, and how to use it responsibly. We want technology to empower and augment (not replace) our staff as the city grows.”
Khodorkovsky will join Flo Entler, John Harshman, Rob Rominiecki and Jen Ahearn-Koch, the incumbent, in a first-round election August 18. The top three will move on to the November election.
Jaime Loomis had planned to be among that crew, but she says a business opportunity arose she felt she could not pass up. She withdrew, hoping she could have brought attention to affordable housing, a new performing arts center and water issues.
Jaime Loomis via LinkedIn
Jaime Loomis: It’s a lot to put yourself out there in front of people who agree with you— who don’t agree with you—who have been doing it for a lot longer—so it was a challenge, but I think it was a great challenge for me personally and professionally.
GC: She was working out as we talked on the phone, early in the morning. The 39-year-old had hoped to develop outreach programs to pull more young people into city decision-making.
Notable absences on the ballot are members of the Democratic party, even in County Commission District 2, the most Democratic-leaning district. Andrew Bevan had filed but did not qualify.
And no, Bridgette Ziegler did not slide in at the last minute to get herself re-elected to the Sarasota School Board.
Contributions to candidates are always interesting, and we will take a look at those in the future. In this report, we checked the net worth of the candidates. We counted five millionaires, including Heidi Brandt, the school board candidate, claiming $5 million and Megan Tennimon at $1.1 million. Wealthy county commission candidates include Jim DeNiro and incumbents Mark Smith and Joe Neunder.
Reporting for WSLR News, Gretchen Cochran.
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