Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Michael “Mike” Crabb to fill the vacant District 2 seat on the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, the governor’s office announced July 31.  

The appointment comes as Crabb is already campaigning for a full term representing District 2. The Orange County Supervisor of Elections lists Crabb  as an active, qualified candidate in the 2026 District 2 race. He is running against Kamia Brown, Wes Hodge, George Oliver III and Marsha Summersill.  

The District 2 race will appear on the Aug. 18 primary election ballot. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to the Nov. 3 general election. 

Crabb said he will “absolutely” continue his campaign after the appointment.  

Crabb, an Orange County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant and Ocoee business owner, will fill the vacancy created when former Commissioner Christine Moore resigned earlier this year to run for mayor of Apopka. Moore lost the April 14 runoff election to Nick Nesta.   

Crabb said in an Apopka Chief interview he was excited to learn DeSantis had appointed him to the vacant District 2 seat, which has been open since April.  

“What I’m most happy about is that we now have representation for District Two that’s been open since April 27th,” Crabb said. 

Crabb said he applied for the appointment earlier in the year and participated in a phone interview with the governor’s office roughly two weeks before his appointment. He said he plans to retire from the Sheriff’s Office Aug. 14 and is working toward being sworn in Aug. 17. 

Crabb said the appointment would not change how he approaches the campaign. Until his planned Aug. 14 retirement from the Sheriff’s Office, he said he is working there full time and campaigning nights and weekends; after taking office, he said he would work as commissioner and continue campaigning outside of those duties.  

The Orange County Democratic Party criticized Crabb’s appointment, arguing that DeSantis should have allowed District 2 voters to decide who represents them through the election.  

In a statement posted on social media, the party said the appointment, coming after early voting had begun and shortly before the Aug. 18 primary, “undermines the principle that voters should choose their own representatives.” 

Asked about concerns that the appointment could give him an advantage in the race, Crabb said the election itself had not changed.  

“I saw some banter about not giving the voters a choice,” Crabb said. “This is only giving representation to the district that has none until December, so the voters did not lose anything. They didn’t have anything prior to this, so it’s exactly the same as what it was before. They still have five people to choose from.” 

Crabb said one of his first priorities will be to get up to speed on Orange County’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget of $8.9 billion.  

“I’ve got to dig in and get briefed and prepped on the budget,” Crabb said. “That’s my first priority, is paying attention to the budget.” 

Crabb said he is working to schedule meetings with Apopka and Ocoee leaders to discuss county-city collaboration, including the potential effects of Amendment 3. 

Amendment 3, which will appear on Florida’s November ballot, would increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes, restrict local governments’ use of remaining property-tax revenue to specified core services and limit increases in assessments of non-homestead property. 

Moore had represented District 2 since her election to the County Commission in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022. She resigned effective April 27 as part of her campaign for Apopka mayor.   

After her election loss, Moore asked DeSantis to reappoint her for the rest of the term, but the seat had remained vacant until Crabb’s appointment Friday.   

Crabb’s final day as appointed commissioner is Dec. 7. The county’s Oath of Office event is scheduled for Dec. 8, when the commissioner elected to District 2 will be sworn in, Orange County confirmed.  

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with an interview with Michael “Mike” Crabb about his appointment, continued campaign for District 2 and priorities as commissioner.