Mike Caruso's name will appear on the Florida ballot despite his arrest on sex abuse charges

Anthony Man, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Aug 27, 2026

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Mike Caruso, who was jailed on five felony counts related to sex abuse charges involving a young child, will appear on the November ballot as the Republican candidate for Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller.

Caruso was appointed to the job on Aug. 18, 2025, by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and suspended by DeSantis exactly one year later when charges were filed. Previously Caruso had been one of DeSantis’ staunchest allies in the state House of Representatives.

The results of this year’s primaries, also held on Aug. 18, were certified Thursday during a brief meeting of the state Elections Canvassing Commission, which includes DeSantis and the three members of the Florida Cabinet. There was no discussion; The Florida Channel video of the entire proceeding lasts 1 minute and 10 seconds.

Neither Caruso nor Democratic candidate Yvette Drucker had challengers from their parties, so they weren’t on the primary ballot.

Supervisors of elections now design ballots for the November election. Ballots to overseas and military votes go out on Sept. 18, said Alison Novoa, public information officer and director of strategic initiatives for the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office.

“The primary election results have been certified. Our office has not received a withdrawal from candidate Caruso; therefore, based on the current status of the election, his name will remain on the ballot,” she said via email.

If Caruso had quickly resigned as a candidate after his arrest and suspension, Palm Beach County Republican Party leaders could have replaced him with a candidate whose name would appear on the ballot, election lawyer Juan-Carlos “J.C.” Planas said in a recent interview.

Caruso could still resign as a candidate and be replaced by the party if he wants to, but his name would still appear on the ballot. Planas said notices would inform voters that even though Caruso’s name is on the ballot, casting a vote for him would count as a vote for the replacement candidate.

There’s precedent for that.

In late September 2006, then-U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., resigned after it emerged he exchanged sexually laced internet messages with underage House pages. (FBI and state investigations were closed without criminal charges, and Foley said there was never any sexual contact.)

The Republican Party replaced Foley with then-state Rep. Joe Negron. But it was late enough in the election cycle that Foley’s name remained on the ballot. Republican Negron ended up losing the November election to Democrat Tim Mahoney by just 4,417 votes out of 223,733 votes cast.

Campaign reports filed with the Supervisor of Elections Office show Caruso and Democratic candidate Drucker raised and spent relatively modestly for a countywide campaign.

From Jan. 1 through Aug. 13, reports show Caruso’s campaign raised $69,300 and spent $36,200.

Drucker, a member of the Boca Raton City Council, raised $59,900 through Aug. 13 and spent $39,500 on her clerk’s campaign.