State Sen. John Thrasher easily wins GOP primary in Volusia, Flagler, Putnam & St. Johns counties

Primary Results / Headline Surfer®

State Sen. John Thrasher won big in Tuesday's GOP primary / Headline Surfer®Derek Hankerson came up short in the GOP primary against incumbent State Sen. John Thrasher / Headline Surfer®Photos for Headline Surfer® /
Relative unknown Derek Hankerson, shown in the inset, came up short against incumbent John Thrasher in the GOP primary for state senator.
 

PALM COAST -- State Sen. John Thrasher easily defeated Putnam County Tea Party hopeful Derek Hankerson in in Tuesday's Republican primary in all four counties that comprise his district 6 seat. 

Though he remans a contender for president at Florida State University, his alma mater, Thrasher said his No. 1 is re-election in November when he faces Democrat Kathleen Trued, a retired St. Augustine teacher who lost to him two years ago, and fellow challenger Greg Feldman, who is running as an independent.

Thrasher received 70 percent of vote across the district, which includes all of Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties as well as northern Volusia County. With all prrecicts reporeting, Thrasher receved 23,953 votes to 10,097 for Hankerson.

State Sen. John Thrasher won big in the Violusia County primary / Headline Surfer®Headline Surfer® graphics /  Here are the results of the Republican primary in Volusia County for the district 6 state senate seat showing incumbent John Thrasher with motre thn three-quarters of all the votes.
 

Thrasher easily outpolled Hankerson in northern Volusia County, with 75.6 percent of the 6,989 votes cast in the primary.

The results were similar in Flagler County, too, where Thrasher garnered 70.17 percent or 4,553 votes to 29.83 percent or 1,930 votes for Hankerson.

Flagler primary results for state sent 6 show incumbent John Thrasher a winner / Headline Surfer®The incumbent, John Thrasher, won Flagler County with more than 70 percent of the votes in the state senate district 6 race over challenger Derek Hankerson as shown in the graphic at left.

State Sen John Thrasher carried Putnam County in Tuesday's primary / Headline Surfer®Just because he's from Putnam County didn't mean Derek Hankerson caught a break in Tuesday's GOP primary against State Sen. John Thrasher. as shown by the overwhelming vote totals in the incumbent's favor.
 

In Putnam County, Hankerson's home turf, he didn't do any better than in the other counties, managing only 28 percent or 1,001 votes to 78 percent or 2,806 votes for Thrasher.

John Thrasher won the GOP primary in St. Johns County with nearly 68 percent of the vote over challenger Derek Hankerson as shown in the graphic.
 

And in St. Johns County, Thrasher won with 67.61 percent or 11, 270 votes to 32.39 percent or 5,398 votes for Hankerson.

FAST FACTS: 

State Sen. John Thasher / Headline Surfer®John Thrasher (b. Dec. 18, 1943) is a Republican member of the Florida State Senate, representing District 6. He was first elected to the chamber in 2009. Thrasher served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1992 to 2000; and as House speaker for two years, 1998-2000.
Thrasher served on the Clay County School Board from 1986-1990, serving as chair from 1989-1990. He was a Republican Caucus policy committee member in 1992-1993. In 1993, he was Clay County delegation chairman.
 
Editor's Note: Headline Surfer® did not do an endorsement in this race for two reasons: 1. Uncertainty as to whether State Sen. John Thrasher will even be in the State Senate in 2015 as he's been mentioned as a top contender to become president of his alma mater, Florida State University; and 2. His opponent, Derek Hankerson, is a relative unknown.