With no competition to Trump, six other candidates remain on Florida GOP primary ballot

With his last major competitor dropping out of the race this week, there's not much in the way of stopping Donald Trump from becoming the Republican nominee for president this year.

But that doesn't mean there won't be a Florida Republican primary on March 19, with seven candidates still on the ballot.

Only registered Republican voters can vote in the primary. There will be no Democratic presidential primary in Florida this year.

Brevard County elections staff members were setting up polling places this week at 10 early-voting sites throughout the county for the primary. Eight days of early in-person voting begin Saturday.

Meanwhile, data from the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Office shows that about 2,000 Brevard voters switched their registration to Republican since the November 2023 election. These voters previously had been registered as Democrats, members of a minor political party or had no party affiliation.

Here are the details of primary and the party registration switch:

More: Super Tuesday? Team Trump has eyes squarely on Joe Biden and the November election

Who is on the ballot?

There are seven Republican candidates on the presidential primary ballot, including six who are no longer actively running.

The only active candidate on the ballot is former President Donald Trump.

Also on the ballot are six former candidates no longer actively campaigning — Ryan Binkley, a business executive and pastor from Texas; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who also was a former ambassador to the United Nations; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Haley was the latest of the candidates to suspend their campaign, which she did Wednesday, after losing all but one of the "Super Tuesday" primaries.

Why are former candidates still on the ballot?

If a candidate did not submit a formal withdrawal by Dec. 12, under Florida Statute, the candidate’s name must remain on the ballot.

Why is there no Democratic primary?

Because the Florida Democratic Party provided only one candidate nominee, President Joe Biden.

When and where will there be early, in-person voting?

Early voting for the March 19 presidential preference primary will be conducted fromSaturday, March 9, through Saturday, March 16, at 10 locations throughout Brevard.

Early-voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Voters can vote at any of the sites, regardless of their residential address.

There will be an average of 11 elections workers at each early-voting site.

These are the 10 sites:

• Dr. Joe Lee Smith Community Center, 415 Stone St., Cocoa.

• Kiwanis Island Park Gymnasium, 950 Kiwanis Island Park Road, Merritt Island.

• Max K. Rodes Park Community Center, 3410 Flanagan Ave., West Melbourne.

• Scotty Culp Municipal Complex, 565 Cassia Blvd., Satellite Beach.

• Ted Whitlock Community Center, 370 Championship Circle NW, Palm Bay.

• Titusville Elections Office, 400 South St., Titusville.

• Titusville Public Library, 2121 S. Hopkins Ave., Titusville.

• Tony Rosa Palm Bay Community Center, 1502 Port Malabar Blvd. NE, Palm Bay.

• Viera Regional Community Center, 2300 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera.

• Wickham Park Community Center, 2815 Leisure Way, Melbourne.

How many Brevard residents are eligible to vote in this primary?

The 190,859 voters we were registered to vote as Republicans as of Feb 20, which is the "book-closing day" for this election. That's 44.9% of the total of 424,871 registered voters.

Among other registered voters, 26.8% are Democrats, 25.2% have no party affiliation, and 3.0% are members of one of Florida's 12 minor political parties.

What was the data on party-switching in Brevard?

More on the primary: Who can — and can't — vote in Florida's presidential preference primary?

From the 2023 Election Day (Nov. 7) to the presidential primary book-closing day (Feb. 20), there are some of the numbers:

• 1,994 people switched to Republican, including 1,126 no-party-affiliation voters, 716 Democrats and 152 members of a minor party.

• 475 people switched to Democrat, including 100 Republicans, 336 NPAs and 39 members of a minor party.

• There were 1,310 former Democrats who switched to other political parties or to NPA.

• There were 607 former Republicans who switched to other political parties or to NPA.

• There were 1,861 former NPAs who switched to a political parties.

Why are more people switching to the Republican Party?

Other than political philosophy, one reason may be to vote in a primary.

In addition to the presidential primary, there will be a number of contested Republican races for Florida Legislature and county offices in the Aug. 20 primacy.

Florida is what's known as a "closed-primary state." So only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.

When are the polls open on the presidential primary day?

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 19. On that day, voters must vote at their designated polling place, which is based on their residential address.

What's at stake in Florida?

There will be 125 convention delegates awarded in the Florida GOP primary.

A candidate needs to secure 1,215 delegates for the Republican Party nomination. Trump has 1,062. He can win 179 more in the six Republican primaries and caucuses before the Florida primary. So he's likely to clinch the nomination before the Florida primary.

What's the deadline for mail ballots in Florida?

Mail ballots must be received in the supervisor of elections offices by 7 p.m. on primary day.

Can you drop off a filled-out vote-by mail ballot?

Yes. What's now known as "secure ballot intake stations" are available during business hours in the lobby of all four administrative offices of Brevard County supervisor of elections for voters wishing to return their voted mail ballots.

These are the office locations:

• Melbourne: 1515 Sarno Road, Building A.

• Palm Bay: 450 Cogan Drive SE.

• Titusville: 400 South St., Suite 1F.

• Viera: 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Building C, Suite 105.

The intake stations also will be at the 10 early-voting sites during the hours of early voting.

Can I still register to vote or change my party registration to be effective for the primary?

No. The deadline was Feb. 20.

What else should voters know?

Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic said, if voters have concerns, they should verify information they’ve seen or heard by going to VoteBrevard.gov or by calling 321-290-VOTE (8683).

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Trump, six non-active candidates remain on Florida GOP primary ballot