Andy Thomson has been declared the winner of the Boca Raton mayoral race by a five-vote margin over political newcomer Mike Liebelson following a mandatory recount completed on Friday. The final certified tally recorded 7,572 votes for Thomson and 7,567 votes for Liebelson. A third candidate, Fran Nachlas, secured 3,967 votes.
Because the initial margin was under 0.5 percent, a machine recount was automatically triggered, which temporarily reduced Thomson’s lead to a single vote. A subsequent manual review of undervotes and overvotes finalized the five-vote victory. Liebelson has indicated he may challenge the outcome, raising legal concerns with the Supervisor of Elections regarding vote-by-mail ballots tabulated after polls closed.
Democrats in Florida have officially flipped the mayorship of Boca Raton — a Palm Beach County community several miles south of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence that hasn't elected a Democrat to that office in around three decades.https://t.co/4BN5dcNXO4
— MakerParty 🇺🇸 (@Makerparty2) March 13, 2026
The municipal election operated as a proxy battle over local development. Thomson, a lawyer and electrical engineer who previously won a 2018 city council seat following a 32-vote recount, campaigned on tax restraint and strict opposition to handing public land over to private developers. The tight race highlighted shifts in local politics and public dissatisfaction with outgoing Mayor Scott Singer’s push for the Terra/Frisbie downtown redevelopment project.
In conjunction with the mayoral race, Boca Raton voters rejected the Terra/Frisbie plan, which proposed nearly 1,000 apartments and commercial spaces on city land. Voters also turned down a separate $175 million bond measure designated for new police facilities.
Thomson is scheduled to be sworn in on March 31 alongside an influx of newly elected council members who ran under the Save Boca platform.