Jeff Atwater Clinches Victory for Second Term

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater cruised to an easy victory in his re-election campaign on Tuesday.

Atwater clinched the win over Democrat William Rankin, taking 59 percent of the vote as of publishing time. Rankin took 40 percent.

Atwaters win doesnt come as a big surprise -- he was heavily favored in several polls to stay in Tallahassee as Floridas CFO.

Rankin, a 54-year-old businessman from Delray Beach, switched from being a Republican to an independent in 2004 and eventually registered as a Democrat in 2012. Despite his party affiliation, Rankin didnt enjoy much support from the Democratic Party -- he was repeatedly left out of many Democratic campaign events and failed to raise significant cash for his campaign.

Atwater, on the other hand, has been a prominent figure in Florida politics for nearly 15 years. In 2000, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. In 2002, he ran for the Florida Senate against Democrat Bob Butterworth. Atwater eventually served as Senate president from 2008-2010. When former CFO Alex Sink decided to run for governor in 2010, Atwater made his first run to replace her, defeating state Rep. Loranne Ausley by a whopping 57 percent.