LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Perhaps the most heated race in Lake County for the November election is for a position that normally doesn’t garner much attention.
That’s the property appraiser race between incumbent Carey Baker and challenger Mark Jordan.
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The property appraiser is responsible for maintaining records of property sales and ownership, conducting annual assessments of property values, and keeping track of tax exemptions.
However, the reason for the rancor in the race is not about the office itself or even a fight between candidates from opposite political parties.
Instead, it’s a fight between two Republicans over whether the challenger should be on the ballot at all. Baker sued to have Jordan removed from the ballot, claiming he did not follow election law. Baker lost both the lawsuit and the appeal.
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The Lake County Republican Party has censured Jordan, and some prominent state Republicans, like Agricultural Commissioner Wilton Simpson, have called on Jordan to quit the race.
Meanwhile, the incumbent, Baker, is running as a write-in candidate, which means the only thing designating his campaign on the ballot will be a circle and a blank line. Voters who want to choose Baker will have to write his name out accurately on the line, and fill in the circle for their vote to count.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting gets underway Monday, Oct. 21 and runs through Saturday, Nov. 2.
Here is what you need to know about the candidates and the fight between them.
News 6 has reached out to both Baker and Jordan since June but only Baker has responded. What follows comes from campaign websites, news releases and court documents.
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Carey Baker — Website
Baker is an Army National Guard veteran, a gun shop owner and a former state legislator. He has been the property appraiser since 2012.
Baker’s campaign website says he has worked to make the property appraiser’s office more transparent and accessible, including the office’s website.
When Baker ran for reelection in 2016, he was unopposed. He was also unopposed in 2020, so instead of putting his name on the ballot, Baker waited until the last moment to qualify and seeing he had no opponent, he ran as a write-in candidate and was unopposed. By doing that, Baker was able to save the nearly $11,000 qualifying fee.
Baker tried to do this again in 2024, waiting until the last day of qualifying and, believing he had no opponents, running as a write-in candidate instead.
Baker’s situation has attracted support from prominent Florida Republicans like Rep. Dan Webster and State Sen. Dennis Baxley, and crowds have come out to sign-wave and help him get the word out.
Baker told News 6 that even though he is well-known in the county, his biggest concern is that there are so many new people moving in who may not know him, or know why they have to write his name in.
Baker said if he does lose, he will run again in four years, or run for another position, so this is not the last we’ll see of Baker in politics.
Mark Jordan — No website found
Jordan is a former firefighter and paramedic for the city of Leesburg and a business owner in Fruitland Park. In January 2024, he was appointed to the North Lake County Hospital District as a trustee by Gov. Ron DeSantis. His brother is Lake County Tax Collector David Jordan.
Mark Jordan originally qualified to run for reelection to the hospital district in June. But on the last day of the qualifying period, after Baker had filed to qualify for reelection as a write-in candidate, Jordan filed to run as a Republican, paying the qualifying fee.
According to court documents from Baker’s lawsuit, Mark Jordan and David Jordan confirm they knew that Baker would try to run as a write-in candidate for reelection if he didn’t think he had an opponent.
Baker claimed Jordan failed to properly qualify for the race, saying he didn’t withdraw first from the hospital board race, timestamps showed his paperwork was filed after the noon qualifying deadline on June 14, and failed to pay the candidate qualifying fee from an account designated for the property appraiser race.
But a judge sided with Jordan, saying Florida law did not require any of those things.
Jordan said during the lawsuit that heated remarks by county politicians has led to threats from others.
If Jordan wins, it means he and his brother, who was reelected unopposed, will control the two offices that handle property taxes in Lake County.