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Some of Central Florida’s biggest name politicians are weighing bids for Orange County Mayor next year.
Incumbent Jerry Demings cannot run again due to term limits, and the field to hold the region’s most important local office is expected to be crowded. It could feature multiple former members of Congress, former constitutional officers and county commissioners, according to seven informed sources who discussed the race with the Orlando Sentinel in recent weeks.
Former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy confirmed her interest to the Sentinel, and former Rep. Val Demings is said to be mulling entering the race to succeed her husband, although in an emailed response to the Sentinel, she stopped short of confirming her interest. Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe said she intends to run for mayor, while Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore-Russell said she’s strongly considering it. Former commissioners Emily Bonilla and Scott Boyd are thinking about it.
Former Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh is also apparently eyeing the race, some of the sources said, though he didn’t return a call seeking comment.
All are Democrats except Boyd, a Republican. The office is officially non-partisan.
More names will almost certainly emerge as the 2026 election draws nearer – candidates have until June 12, 2026, to qualify. So far, nobody has filed paperwork to run.
The county mayor is powerful, serving as the chief executive of the county of roughly 1.5 million residents, overseeing more than 8,000 employees and a $4.4 billion budget. Depending in part upon its occupant, the post, elected countywide, sets critical direction for Central Florida on issues ranging from transportation to land use to housing to tourism policy. Jerry Demings, for example, has been the leading advocate for the so-far-failed effort to push a local sales tax increase for roads and mass transit, that could resurface on a future ballot.
The mayor also has a seat on numerous powerful boards, including the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, the Central Florida Expressway Authority and the Lynx transit system. The office also serves as the emergency manager for the county, which is especially relevant during hurricane season, and in recent years, during a pandemic.
Murphy, of Winter Park, left Congress in 2022 and acknowledged her interest in the local office this week.
Known as a moderate Democrat in Congress, she previously was a national security specialist for the Department of Defense and then a business instructor at Rollins College before running for the House in 2016. She was considered a steep underdog to 24-year incumbent John Mica, but ultimately won the election and served three terms in a district spanning parts of Orange County and Seminole.
“I’ll be honest – some people are encouraging me to run, and it’s on my mind,” she said in a text message. “This country saved my family and me, and I’ve always seen public service as my way to pay it back … Like most, I’m just trying to figure out where I can step up and help right now. So I won’t pretend I’m not considering it.”
Val Demings could be another high-profile entrant into the contest. Her name has been tied to the race for months, and six of the Sentinel’s sources said she is considering entering.
In an email Saturday evening, after the original deadline for this article, Demings responded to the Sentinel’s questions about the Orange County mayor’s race this way: “I am asked every day, every day about running for political office. I have not made any decisions and always in prayer about my next move.”
She served a west Orlando congressional district for six years and was a former Orlando Police Chief. She had a 27-year career at OPD, and she met her husband Jerry as a patrol officer at the agency.
Highlighting her congressional tenure, she was a House impeachment manager during President Donald Trump’s first term. Joe Biden considered her as a potential running mate in the lead up to the 2020 election, and also as a candidate for Secretary of Homeland Security. She ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, but was defeated by Marco Rubio.
Several other prospective candidates were willing to discuss with the Sentinel a possible 2026 run for Orange County mayor, a job budgeted to pay the incumbent $247,938 in fiscal year 2024-25.
All have county commission experience.
Uribe, who won re-election in November after a bruising campaign with former commissioner and legislator Linda Stewart, said she wants to lead as mayor “more than ever” with transportation and jobs as her key issues.
“I want to keep fighting the good fight,” she said.
Clerk of Courts Moore-Russell, who was elected to the county board in 2006 as the youngest commissioner in Orange County history at 34, said she too was strongly considering a bid.
“I am very seriously exploring it,” she said. “We’re at a very pivotal point and I’d love to be in a position to set the direction of our county.”
She said she planned to announce her intentions soon.
Bonilla, a strong voice for protecting rural areas throughout her board tenure, has kept busy selling eggs from “pasture-raised, happy chickens,” according to the Facebook page for El Huevon, the family farm on Lake Pickett Road.
“I’m looking at my options. I’ll just say that about what I might do next,” said Bonilla, who served two four-year terms as commissioner in east Orange after upsetting incumbent Ted Edwards in 2016.
Former commissioner Boyd, who represented west Orange for eight years, wondered aloud if he could win a countywide contest after opposing the rural boundary charter issue, which won 73% of the vote.
“I’ve thought about it, definitely,” said Boyd, who manages his pioneering Central Florida citrus family’s real-estate interests. “I’m not going to say no but at the same time I see the lay of the land.”
He said he would be able to work well with Tallahassee.
rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com, shudak@orlandosentinel.com
