Mike Greenwell

When former Boston Red Sox All-Star Mike Greenwell first entered the race for the open Lee County District 5 Commissioner seat held by the late Frank Mann, he was one of three Republicans including a former county commissioner, a Democrat and a write-in candidate vying for the office.

On Tuesday, Greenwell was on the ballot as the incumbent after having been appointed to the office by Gov. Ron DeSantis a month before the primary.

That endorsement of the Republican governor in the middle of a Republican primary race may have brought objections from both his opponents but appears to have only helped Greenwell as he coasted to a victory in the District 5 Republican primary.

With all precincts reporting, Greenwell secured 68.7% of the vote, compared to 20.5% for former District 5 Commissioner and real estate broker John Albion and 10.75% for chiropractor Dr. Joseph Gambino.

“I’m excited,” Greenwell said. “I’m very honored that the governor appointed me and even more honored that our citizens voted for me.”

Greenwell, who lives in North Olga, said he believed his community efforts helped aid his big election win.

“I’ve done a lot for the community my whole life. I have a well-known name. I’m looking forward to serving the community,” he said.

Greenwell said it was a “great feeling” to get such a large vote of support from the Republican primary voters.

“I am extremely grateful to have such overwhelming support from this community.”

Albion, who served as District 5 Commissioner from 1992 to 2006, had accused DeSantis of influencing the primary by making the appointment so close to the primary.

Albion said he felt “snakebit” after the loss.

He said all of his fundraising dried up once DeSantis appointed Greenwell to the seat.

“Congratulations to Mike Greenwell and Gov. DeSantis. They had a nice victory tonight. I wish the best for Mike Greenwell because that’s the best for our county.”

Albion said he believed the appointment made by the governor affected the outcome.

“It’s not supposed to be done like this. It was unnecessary and unfortunate,” Albion said.

“The bottom line is I thought he was misled,” he said. “The governor doesn’t live in Lee County, the governor doesn’t vote in Lee County, and he decided to do this.”

Albion said he attended just under 60 events in 60 days. He will turn 60 on Friday and doesn’t intend to return to politics.

“I am perfectly prepared to move on to my life,” he said.

“There is too much in this town that is based on power and influence and not on ability. I will find other ways I will find time to provide service to my community.”

More than 69,000 registered Republicans voted in the race, less than one-third of the 222,596 Republicans registered with the party in Lee County.

Greenwell will now be almost certain to maintain his seat on the board as he faces Lehigh Acres Democrat Matthew Wood and write-in candidate Angela Chenaille. Lee County voters have not elected a Democrat to the county commission in more than 25 years and registered Republicans have an electoral advantage of about 96,000 more registered voters than registered Democrats.

About 44% of the county’s 510,807 registered voters identify as Republicans, 25% are registered Democrats and the remaining 31% are independents or are registered with another party.

Greenwell, who graduated from North Fort Myers High School, operates the Olga farm 31 Produce, the Cracker Shack Cafe, the construction firm Big League Builders and a property rental company Greenwell Investment Properties. That is in addition to his duties as county commissioner.

He ran on a platform of “pro-growth,” stating the county should work with developers such as Babcock Ranch in his district, and improve infrastructure such as local roads.

District 5 covers Lehigh Acres, Alva, Olga, Buckingham and a portion of eastern Fort Myers. Voters from throughout Lee County will vote in the general election.

Editor’s Note: This has been updated to include additional comment from Mike Greenwell.