Orlando, Florida: Orange County Elects Tiffany Moore Russell, Its First Black Woman Mayor

Orange County voters have elected Tiffany Moore Russell as their next county mayor. Moore Russell, the county Clerk of Courts, defeated businessman Chris Messina in the runoff on Tuesday, November 3, with 278,746 votes, or 62.8 percent, to 164,941 votes, or 37.2 percent, according to unofficial results with all precincts reported. The margin was 113,805 votes.

Moore Russell will become the first Black woman elected mayor of Orange County. She succeeds Jerry Demings, who is leaving the office after eight years and is term-limited. Results from the November 3 election remain unofficial until they are certified by election authorities.

A mayor with county experience

Moore Russell knows the building she will run. She previously served on the Orange County Commission before becoming Clerk of Courts, a major county office, and she brings experience in both county policymaking and administration. Her election followed an August contest in which no candidate won the majority needed to take the office outright, which sent the race to the November runoff.

Her administration will oversee county services, regional development and public investment in one of Florida's largest metropolitan areas. The issues waiting at the start of the term are the ones Orange County commissioners talk about most weeks: affordable housing, transportation and road congestion, infrastructure, public safety and how the county pays for services as it grows.

Five commission seats decided the same night

Voters also filled five Orange County Commission seats on Tuesday. In District 2, former state representative Kamia Brown defeated Commissioner Mike Crabb, 39,959 votes to 23,190, or 63.3 percent to 36.7 percent. Crabb had been appointed to the commission by Governor Ron DeSantis, and Brown's win removes the commission's only Republican member, according to the Sun Post.

In District 4, state representative Johanna López won with about 65 percent of the vote, defeating Brian Jones and write-in candidate Isabella Arthur. In District 6, incumbent Commissioner Mike Scott won another term with about 56 percent, defeating Lawanna Gelzer. Patricia Rumph won the new District 7 seat with about 70 percent, defeating Vicki Vargo. Víctor Torres Jr., a former state senator, won the new District 8 seat with about 57 percent, defeating Jeannette Quiñones Hernández. Districts 7 and 8 were created in the expansion and redistricting of the county commission.

Orange County voted against the statewide result

The local result sat inside a split Florida night. In Orange County, Democrat David Jolly took about 64 percent of the county vote for governor, while Republican Byron Donalds won the governorship statewide with about 50 percent. In the United States Senate race, Democrat Angie Nixon carried Orange County with nearly 64 percent, while Republican Ashley Moody won statewide with about 51 percent. Bungalower reported the county figures from unofficial election results and described the pattern as Orange County following its established Democratic voting direction while Republicans kept Florida's statewide offices.