Though she has long been known to have eyed the position, former Congresswoman Val Demings announced on Friday that she will not compete to replace her husband as Orange County Mayor.
Demings, a former Orlando police chief who went on to represent a district in west Orlando and Orange County in Congress for three terms, said she gave the choice to skip the 2026 election careful thought.
I am appreciative of the tremendous amount of love and encouragement I have gotten in the last few weeks. In a statement to the Orlando Sentinel, she stated, “I am thrilled to see the pool of applicants for this important role develop now that I have made my decision.”
We are a better, more cohesive town as a result of Jerry Demings’ strong, brave leadership as mayor, she said.
Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe, software entrepreneur Chris Messina, who finished considerably behind incumbent Demings in 2022, and Tiffany Moore Russell, the Orange County clerk of courts and a former county commissioner, are now in the running to replace term-limited Jerry Demings.
According to political insiders the Sentinel spoke with earlier this year, Val Demings was one of at least seven applicants connected to the position. She was seen as one of the most prominent possible contenders, along with former U.S. Representative Stephanie Murphy.
Serving as the county’s top executive and emergency manager, the mayor of Orange County holds the highest political authority in the county. They also participate on influential committees that oversee the area’s highways, transit systems, and Orlando International Airport.
$247,938 is the position’s yearly compensation.
