OCALA -- Steve Oelrich and Ed Jennings Jr. both trounced their District 14 state Senate primary opponents Tuesday.

Their wins will send the two men to the November general election when the candidates face off for the political seat in Tallahassee.

Oelrich, 60, a Republican, won 61.6 percent of the vote with most of the votes from the eight-county district reporting in by the Star-Banner's press time, defeating political newcomer Travis Horn.

District 14 includes north Marion County, parts of Putnam, Columbia, Levy counties and all of Alachua, Union, Bradford and Gilchrist counties.

The election results are unofficial. Florida law requires each county supervisor of election to verify their election tabulations by Sept. 12.

Oelrich, Alachua County's former sheriff, said he owed his primary victory to his reputation as Alachua County's sheriff for the past four terms.

"We had excellent name recognition, so we built on that and we didn't have to build on scratch," Oelrich said. "Generally, people respected what I accomplished as sheriff."

Oelrich also outspent Horn 4-1.

Horn, a marketing director for a Gainesville communications company, spent about $42,000 for his state senate bid.

Democrat Edward Jennings, 37, who is a three-term state representative, defeated Gainesville insurance agent Perry McGriff with 59.60 percent of the vote, with most county precincts reporting by the Star-Banner's press deadline.

Jennings outspent his opponent by more than 2-1, according to the August Florida Division of Elections financial reports.

McGriff spent about $77,000 for his campaign.

By mid August, both Jennings and Oelrich spent about $180,000 each.

Jennings said he owed his primary victory to his three terms in the Florida House of Representatives, pushing for social programs that included money for affordable housing and education programs for students not necessarily headed for college.

"People are looking for a legislator . . . who can speak to their needs and those needs are not Democratic or Republican needs," he said.

As for the November election, Oelrich said he would run a straight-forward campaign against Jennings, focusing on Jennings' "accomplishments or lack thereof."

"He likes social programs and government intervention," Oelrich said, adding that he focused on less government and more self-reliance.