LAKELAND, Fla. — Sara Roberts McCarley won the special election Tuesday to claim the commission seat of Michael Dunn. 

McCarley will fill the seat left by Dunn, who was indicted on a second-degree murder charge after a fatal shooting at a store he managed.

Bill Watts, Patrick Shawn Jones and McCarley were all vying to fill the seat and represent the Southwest District on the commission.

McCarley, 47, said she loves Lakeland and felt it was time to give back. The stay-at-home mom is a Florida Southern College graduate who was the executive director of Polk Vision from 2012-2016. 

She also created the Randy Roberts Foundation in honor of her late husband who died unexpectedly from a heart aneurysm. The foundation takes high school seniors on a trip to Washington, D.C. to learn about the inner workings of government. 

McCarley received 74.2 percent of the vote while Watts had 14.3 percent and Jones tallied 11.5 percent. 

According to the Polk County Supervisor of Elections Office, almost 8,000 ballots were cast. McCarley received a little more than 5,800 votes.