This year’s political season officially kicked off Friday as scores of candidates qualified for dozens of public offices across Central Florida — from county commissions to school boards and a clerk of the courts spot.
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The party primary elections will be held Aug. 18, and the general election is Nov. 3.
Orange County
In what likely will be the most-watched political contest is the race to succeed term-limited Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.
The nonpartisan race includes well-known Democrats such as Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe, Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell and former U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. Also in the mix is Republican businessman Chris Messina, who previously challenged Demings, and first-time candidate Randy Rust Jr.
Because Russell is vying for Orange County mayor, four candidates are running to replace her as clerk of the courts: Roberta Walton Johnson, general counsel for the clerk’s office; incumbent District 4 Commissioner Maribel Gomez-Cordero; former Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh and Orlando Realtor Terrell Thomas.
Five Orange commission seats will be up for grabs, including two new seats created by a charter amendment narrowly approved by county voters in November 2024.
In the District 2 race to succeed Christine Moore, who resigned to run for Apopka mayor, candidates include former state Rep. Kamia Brown; Michael Crabb, a lieutenant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office; Wes Hodge, a former Orange Democratic Party chair; Ocoee city commissioner George Oliver III; and family law attorney Marsha Summersill of Apopka.
In the District 4 contest, Democratic state Rep. Johanna López, a former teacher and member of the Orange County School Board, and businessman Brian Jones have qualified as candidates. Isabella Arthur qualified as a write-in candidate.
In District 6, incumbent commissioner Mike Scott will face primary-election challenges from Lawanna Gelzer, Cynthia Harris and Hedder Pierre Joseph. Also qualifying was Loody Delice, who previously operated a valet service.
One of two new districts created by a voter-approved charter amendment in 2024, District 7 includes the communities of Eatonville, Fairview Shores, Maitland, Orlo Vista and part of Pine Hills.
It’s a crowded field, as 13 candidates qualified to run as the district’s first commissioner. Among the candidates are former Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner; lawyer and former Orlando city commissioner Vickie Vargo; Patricia Rumph, who has served as president of the Pine Hills Community Council; and Aaron Emmanuel Lewis, co-founder of The Family Support Network.
District 8, the other new seat, has a field of six candidates. They include longtime former Democratic state Rep. Victor Torres; first-time candidate George Haas; business owner Tatiana Fernandez; Jeannette Quiñones Hernández, who worked for former Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio; Julio Rocha, co-owner of an insurance agency; and Air Force veteran Isaiah Anderson.
Seminole County
In Seminole, Democrat Charline Santos, a strategist and Realtor, has filed to run against Republican incumbent Amy Lockhart for the District 4 seat on the county commission in a political contest that will likely focus on the issues of taxes, affordability and protection of the rural boundary.
In Seminole’s District 2 commission race, incumbent Jay Zembower, a Republican, was re-elected to a third term after not drawing an opponent.
In Sanford, three candidates — Justin Bruce Bynum, Charles Davis and Christina Hollerbach — qualified to become the city’s next mayor after Art Woodruff decided not to seek re-election. Sanford’s qualifying period ended May 26.
Qualifying periods for Seminole’s six other municipalities — Lake Mary, Longwood, Casselberry, Oviedo, Winter Springs and Altamonte Springs — are in August.
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Osceola County
Former Kissimmee Mayor Olga Gonzalez will challenge longtime incumbent Viviana Janer for the District 2 seat on the Osceola County Commission.
Janer is seeking her fourth term. Gonzalez served as Kissimmee’s mayor from 2020 to 2024 and previously was a city commissioner.
In the District 4 county commission race, five candidates have qualified to replace longtime commissioner Cheryl Grieb, who decided not to run after nearly 12 years in office. Those candidates include Rev. Mary Downey, Rafael Lebron, Donald Shroyer, Jose Gonzalez and Nelly Hernandez.
In Kissimmee, Seat 2 city commissioner Angela Eady will face a challenge from entrepreneur Wanda Román. In the Seat 4 race, incumbent commissioner Janette Martinez will face Tiffany Jeffers, Rubin Anderson and Maria Virginia Garcia.
In St. Cloud, three candidates are vying to replace Seat 5 council member Shawn Fletcher. Those include Deputy Police Chief Kirk Zike; inflight supervisor and youth sports coach Alex Rodriguez; and city finance employee Jim Moore.
In the city’s Seat 4, incumbent Ken Gilbert earned a new term after no other candidate filed to run.
Lake County
Two county commission seats are up for grabs. District 4 commissioner and commission Chair Leslie Campione will face David Williamson in a GOP primary. Democrat Egor Emory also qualified, as did Tommie Powers as a write-in.
Current District 2 County Commissioner Sean Parks, a Republican, will face Humbuerto Liriano in a GOP primary. The winner will face write-ins Jose Elias-Torres and Leighton Powers with no Democrat having qualified.
School Boards
In Orange, four candidates are vying for two seats each in District 1 and District 2, and three candidates are running for District 3 seat.
Orange County elects a countywide chairperson for its School Board, with current board members Angie Gallo and Alicia Farrant facing off to succeed Teresa Jacobs, who is retiring at the end of her term.
Gallo is president of the Florida School Boards Association and has been on the board since 2018. Farrant, who was first elected in 2022, is a non-profit founder and mother of five.
In Osceola, two candidates are vying for the District 1 school board seat and three candidates are facing off in District 3. Incumbent School Board members Heather Kahoun and Paula Bronson are running unopposed.
In Seminole, three School Board seats will be contested by two candidates each this year in Districts 1, 2, and 5. Incumbent school board members Kristine Kraus and Autumn Garick each face a challenger for re-election.
Lake County’s School Board has one contested race, with two candidates for its District 1 seat. Incumbent board members Marc Dodd and Stephanie Luke are running unopposed in the other two seats.
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