The Walton County 2026 Primary Election is officially over and it is time to break down the winners and losers. Spoiler alert — I am not including any of the election day winners on the list. That would be incredibly boring.
So, below you are going to see individuals and groups who have gained the most power and influence based on the election night results relative to where they were before Election Day.
WINNERS
Honorable Mention #1: Term Limits
The topic of BCC term limits only comes up in passing, but it remains a populist issue. I can see a push by some on the BCC to put that idea to the voters.
Honorable Mention #2: Charter County Designation
Walton County has really been damaged by corrupt and incompetent commissioners over the years. And traditionally, it is very difficult to defeat incumbents. Absent state action, the only realistic avenue to recall county commissioners at the moment is by becoming a charter county. The threat of recall is one way to really hold an elected official’s feet to the fire. It also makes it much less risky for candidates to challenge the establishment in a potential recall election as opposed to mounting a challenge in a traditional campaign that overwhelmingly favors the incumbent.
Honorable Mention #3: Republican Party of Walton County
They hosted a candidates forum that was recorded and made available to the public so that voters could learn more about the candidates. There was a broad and comprehensive array of questions that gave each of them an opportunity to communicate to the voters what their positions were and allow them to differentiate themselves from each other. Many of those answers — or refusals to answer — were pivotal.
Commissioner Danny Glidewell said he opposed the forensic audit. Every other candidate spoke in favor of the forensic audit except for Commissioner Donna Johns, who bizarrely declined to answer.
10. Talented & Competent Employees
We all know that there are some tremendously hard working and dedicated county employees. But we also know that many of these employees do not always benefit or see the rewards of their hard work because they are not part of the favored groups or connected to the Good Ol’ Boys. Double standards and disparate treatment has often ruled the day and those who are protected and connected get taken care of or have their sins overlooked. Meanwhile, the “book” is thrown at those troublemakers who don’t “go along to get along” or even worse, speak out against wrongdoing.
I would have liked to have put them higher on the Board — but frankly, I have been disappointed by County Administrator Brian Kellenberger’s performance. Exhibit A would be his failure to take action against Scott Brannon — the Director of Governmental Coordination who has clearly committed time card fraud and been allowed to get away with it for years.
9. Mid Bay News
Local mainstream media in Walton County is an absolute joke. Was there any real coverage of the Walton County election cycle?
Instead, Mid Bay News answered the call and proactively engaged the candidates to seek interviews so that they could educate the voters. Unfortunately, not all candidates participated. They also provided live election night coverage and interviewed several guests during the night.
Look for their influence to grow over the next couple of years as their audience and reach expand.
8. James Calkins
Wait…was that a record scratch? WTF! How does one of the losers in the BCC District 4 race actually make it onto the “winners” list?
Hear me out on this.
Yes, he was trounced in his re-election campaign during the 2024 Santa Rosa County BCC race. But he came to Walton County a virtual unknown, was absolutely massacred online by his detractors in Walton County AND Santa Rosa County, ran an incredibly clean campaign, and barely lost by just 370 votes.
To put that in perspective, Trey Nick was a quasi-incumbent in 2024 and they both finished with 35% of the vote — except Nick lost by more than 2,000 votes. And to add even greater context, incumbent Boots McCormick finished an abysmal third place with just 16.5% of the vote in 2024.
By all accounts, he worked his butt off during the campaign putting in the sweat equity and shoe leather (or skateboard wheels) to introduce himself to the voters. On top of that, he was gracious in defeat offering up a nice concession post on Facebook the day after the election. If he puts in the work to build even more connections and relationships countywide over the next four years, I could easily see him mounting another challenge.
7. 2028 Underdogs
Look — after watching the incumbents get shelled this year along with Boots McCormick getting obliterated in 2024 — prospective challengers have to be lickin’ their chops thinking about the prospects of mounting a challenge in 2028. It isn’t just that the incumbents have been soundly defeated it is how they have been beaten by grassroots candidates without any money for the most part.
Dan Curry raised around $10,000 — but that overstates the real amount because the bulk of that came toward the end of the campaign when he couldn’t really even deploy it. Warren Whitaker raised something like $7,000. That is not even enough money to send out one mailer to the voters.
Besides — let’s face it. The Walton County BCC has screwed up infrastructure and managing growth for so long that it is going to take years to see a measurable improvement in those quality of life metrics. Even if Curry and his new cohort of likely allies bat 1.000 over the next two years — every candidate is going to be able to run on a “We need change” platform for the next 2-3 election cycles.
6. Commissioner Brad Drake
If he is looking ahead to a future re-election campaign in 2028 — he has likely been sent a lifeline with these wins by Bagby and Whitaker.
Why? Because I just said there is a huge anti-incumbent mood and that is going to persist into 2028. The best way to inoculate yourself from those attacks is to point to a fiscally conservative record. Whitaker must follow through on a campaign promise to bring a forensic audit to Walton County. Bagby publicly stated he supports the audit and Curry will definitely make it 3 votes. Drake will undoubtedly vote for it.
And in fairness to Drake — he has been the biggest proponent of lowering property taxes. He was thwarted in large part by Commissioner Glidewell and Donna Johns. Given Curry’s hawkish push to rein in spending in this year’s budget workshops, I guarantee you that there will be a reduction in the millage rate that exceeds the “roll back” rate during next year’s budget cycle.
Drake is going to walk into the 2028 election being able to claim credit for a forensic audit and actually lowering taxes for the first time in a long time.
5. Suzanne Harris
Love her, fear her, or hate her — you gotta respect her.
She threaded the needle and went 2 for 2 after backing Jim Bagby and Warren Whitaker. Clearly, she is still an influential person in Walton County politics and that is even after considering the fact that she was not at 100% and fully engaged for much of the campaign season due to the passing of her husband.
4. Kate Holland & Alan Osborne
Kate Holland and Alan Osborne have been persecuted by Walton County for years and it has costs them hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars, respectively. They both went to bat for the two newcomers. Holland’s Horse Power Pavilion has been repeatedly attacked and subjected to code enforcement complaints and harassment. Osborne is still in the midst of a two decades long battle with the County with depositions scheduled.
When you host the Election Night Victory Party at your establishment or have the platform of the county’s most watched YouTube channel — and then you combine that with Commissioner Dan Curry who has had an antagonistic relationship with the code compliance department — you have to believe there is a paradigm shift coming.
I believe you are likely to see some serious changes in that department.
It is my expectation that the on-going harassment of Holland and her businesses by fabricated code enforcement complaints and past actions by the County staff will diminish. The revelations about how County staff acted and treated her as revealed in the shocking depositions given by County employees in her lawsuit were egregious. There needs to be an accounting of that and I suspect — a reckoning of some sort.
3. Joseph Turner
That’s right — me — yours truly, the former assistant county administrator. I am the guy who is facing 34 felony charges for looking at a county-owned iPad and exposing potential criminal activity regarding Commissioner Danny Glidewell to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. Instead of hiding, I have publicly defended myself at every turn and aggressively fought the charges without hiding behind the “Fifth Amendment” or “no comments.”
After going on the warpath and bombarding the Glidewell campaign online with blistering and relentless attacks, anyone who paid attention fully understands that I am capable of moving the needle. While some woefully ignorant individuals snickered and mocked my activist background over the last several months — the laughter died Tuesday night. Now, you have those folks publicly pleading for me to “cease fire” and consider his scores settled.
However — I have some outstanding debts to collect on and I have stated numerous times that I will be involved in Walton County politics until my legal cases are fully resolved. At this point, I do not see that happening before 2028.
Who knows, maybe I will apply to be an aide for one of the commissioners so that I can use my experience to help push a reform agenda through the pipeline.
2. Commissioner Curry
Look — Dan Curry has been taking a beating since getting elected in 2024. And this election cycle, the anonymous Danny Glidewell and James Calkins supporters seemingly spent more time attacking Curry than advocating for their own candidates which was insanely weird since Curry was not even on the ballot.
When Curry was elected in 2024 — his supporters were ecstatic believing that they had finally secured a third vote needed to effectuate real, substantive change in Walton County. He was seen as the much needed reinforcement to join Donna Johns and Brad Drake. And then shortly after he was sworn in to office most of his supporters recoiled in horror. They felt that Drake and Johns flip-flopped and sold out the “reform agenda” that was seemingly in their grasp.
Curry took a risk and publicly endorsed Bagby and Whitaker. They both won. This is literally the definition of improving your power and influence in the county.
It appears that Curry is finally going to get some help and that means he gets to move away from playing defense and fending off the attack volleys. Now he can go on the offensive to implement a slate of reforms. Joined by Bagby and Whitaker, and now the politically savvy Drake who sees the winds of change, Curry is going to sprint into his re-election campaign with an absolute laundry list of wins he can run on in 2028.
#1. Government Accountability and Fiscal Transparency
While I could have just as easily said the Walton County taxpayers are the biggest winners, and they truly are, I think it would overshadow the really important win of this election cycle: ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
Every candidate and incumbent blows smoke up the asses of the electorate claiming they support accountability and transparency. Glidewell himself positioned himself as such over his entire 8 years in office — even though it was a scam.
This time it is legit. Taxpayers are not going to get lip service on this promise.
A forensic audit is coming and that pandora’s box is going to lead to years of headlines and I believe — potentially criminal indictments.
And you are going to see a massive push for lower taxes and more accountable government because all the forces have aligned. Campaign promises were made, candidates were elected, and grassroots citizen activists clearly demonstrated that they have the ability and desire to throw anyone who fails to honor these promises out of office the next go around.
Watch for my next post where I feature the 10 biggest losers of the election.