Boca Raton Mayoral Race Separated by 6 Votes, May Trigger Automatic Recount

Mike Liebelson (left) and Andy Thomson. (Campaign Photos)

(Story Updated 9:48 p.m., Tuesday, March 10, 2026)

The intense race for Boca Raton’s next mayor may not be over, with a razor-thin margin separating two of the three candidates. There was a mere six votes separating incumbent Councilman Andy Thomson and challenger Mike Liebelson to replace Scott Singer as the city’s new mayor.

Previously, the Palm Beach County elections website had the candidates separated by 25 votes, with Liebelson in the lead, but data added just after 9 p.m. Tuesday placed Thomson in the lead – and reduced the margin to six individual votes.

Incumbent Councilwoman Fran Nachlas, who was also seeking the mayor’s seat, garnered 3,945 votes – just under 21 percent of the total. With all districts reporting, Thomson led with 7,562 votes compared to Liebelson’s 7,556 votes. By percentage, the two are separated by by just over 0.03 percent, which would almost certainly trigger Florida’s automatic recount law, which states that a recount is required if a candidate’s margin of victory is less than or equal to 0.5 percent. There were 19,077 total votes cast for mayoral candidates.

Thomson, results showed, garnered a resounding lead by way of mail-in ballots, while Liebelson bested his rival with in-person voters on Election Day.