Wyhof Salmon, left, is poised to be Sanford’s next mayor, while Ken Britton, right, will face Republican Blaine Sutton in July for the Ward 1 seat on the Sanford City Council.

With unofficial vote tallies in, Rebecca Wyhof Salmon appears poised to be Sanford’s next mayor after defeating her fellow Democratic city councilman Sam Gaskins in the primary race for the seat on Tuesday by a nearly 40 percentage point margin.

No Republican filed for the seat, meaning the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary is likely to succeed Chet Mann as Sanford’s next mayor after the municipal general election in July. Wyhof Salmon earned 1,109 votes to Gaskins’ 495.

Meanwhile, in the Democratic primary for the council’s Ward 1 seat, which Gaskins vacated to seek the office of mayor, Democrat Ken Britton appeared to edge former Lee County Board of Education Chairman Mark Akinosho by an extremely slim margin. With all precincts reporting, Britton earned 245 votes to Akinosho’s 242. If certified as the winner, Britton will face Republican Blaine Sutton for the west Sanford-based seat in the July municipal election.

Sanford’s municipal general election will be held in July.