Orange County clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell defeated businessman Chris Messina in a competitive, open race for Orange County mayor, winning just under 60 percent of the vote to 35 percent, as of publication, in an election featuring roughly 55 percent voter turnout countywide.
Although the race is officially nonpartisan, Moore Russell is, notably, a Democrat with years of experience in elected public office, while Messina — a Republican — has never held an elected position in public office before.
Moore Russell will succeed outgoing Mayor Jerry Demings, a former sheriff and police chief who was first elected mayor in 2018 and is term-limited from running for re-election. Orange County mayors serve four-year terms and are limited to two consecutive terms in office under the county charter. The job currently pays an annual salary of $261,209.
As Orange County mayor, Moore Russell will oversee a nearly $9 billion budget in the coming year and help guide the county’s decision and policy-making process as a leading voice on the newly nine-member Orange County board of county commissioners.
A former county commissioner herself, Moore Russell campaigned as a “pragmatic” leader with experience balancing budgets. She’s supportive of finding ways to build out the county’s transportation infrastructure and streamlining the permitting process to incentivize more affordable housing development.
“What they will get in a leader is someone who is very creative and intentional and strategic in how to deliver services,” she told the Weekly in an interview earlier this year. She also described herself as “someone who’s a fighter, someone who is going to defend their interests and protect them as Orange County residents.”
Moore Russell had bested Messina in the four-way August primary election, securing roughly 32 percent of the vote to Messina’s 27 percent — a difference of nearly 9,000 votes. Both had come out on top for a runoff in a competitive open race that also featured former U.S. House Rep. Stephanie Murphy and Orange County commissioner Mayra Uribe.
County commission results
Joining Mayor-elect Moore Russell on the Orange County Commission this year will be two new county commissioners, in addition to incumbent District 6 commissioner Mike Scott.
In 2024, Orange County residents voted to add two new county districts to accommodate the county’s population growth. Patricia Rumph was elected to represent the newly created District 7, while former State Sen. Vic Torres is the frontrunner in the race for the District 8 seat.
Democratic Florida House Rep. Johanna Lopez is ahead in the District 4 race to replace outgoing commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero. Former State Rep. Kamia Brown, notably, will also be taking over the District 2 seat that has been held by DeSantis appointee Mike Crabbe since July.
Crabbe, a sheriff’s lieutenant, was appointed to fill a vacancy left by former Commissioner Christine Moore, who resigned from office in order to run for Apopka mayor — a race she ultimately lost.
Orange County, today, is home to nearly 1.4 million residents, as well as economic drivers such as Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and other tourist attractions that draw tens of millions of visitors to the county each year.
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