Russell, Messina head to runoff in Orange County mayor’s race

Tiffany Moore Russell and Chris Messina emerged as the top two candidates in the Orange County mayoral race Tuesday night, setting up a November runoff after neither candidate received a majority of the vote, according to unofficial election results from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections. 

With all 263 precincts reporting, Russell led the four-candidate field with 56,041 votes, or 32.04%, while Messina received 47,432 votes, or 27.12%. Former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy followed with 45,796 votes, or 26.18%, and Mayra Uribe received 25,642 votes, or 14.66%. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Orange County Supervisor of Elections reported Election Day, early votes, and mail-in ballots completely counted. 

Russell, the Orange County Clerk of Courts, celebrated her first-place finish in a statement posted to her campaign’s Facebook page Tuesday night. 

“We won tonight but the work continues to November,” she said. “I’ll need you to knock on more doors, make more phone calls, and continue to support this campaign that has and will always be backed by the people.” 

Messina told The Apopka Chief Tuesday night that he was honored by the support his campaign received. 

“I feel really honored that Orange County voters trusted me with this,” Messina said. “They believe in a new vision for Orange County.”  

Messina said his campaign had prepared three speeches for election night — one for an outright victory, another for advancing to a runoff, and a third for a concession speech. He said his campaign expected at least to advance to a runoff but had hoped to win outright.  

He also said he was somewhat surprised to advance against Russell, saying that the two had raised less money than the other candidates in the race. 

“To me, that just goes to show that it’s not the amount of money you can throw at something,” Messina said. “It’s how you connect with communities and voters.”  

The winner of the November runoff will succeed Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. 

Brown, Crabb lead District 2 field 

Kamia Brown and Michael “Mike” Crabb held the top two positions Tuesday night in the five-candidate race for the District 2 seat on the Orange County Commission. 

Brown received 7,865 votes, or 32.23%, while Crabb received 6,202 votes, or 25.42%, according to the unofficial results. 

Wes Hodge finished third with 4,847 votes, or 19.86%, followed by George Oliver III with 3,657 votes, or 14.99%, and Marsha Summersill with 1,830 votes, or 7.50%. 

All 33 participating District 2 precincts were reporting. 

With no candidate receiving a majority, Brown and Crabb held the two positions that would advance to the November runoff. 

Crabb was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on July 31 to fill the District 2 vacancy created when Christine Moore resigned to run for Apopka mayor. Moore was first elected to the County Commission in 2018 and reelected in 2022. 

In a questionnaire with the Chief before the election, the District 2 candidates discussed their backgrounds and how they would work with municipalities within the district, including Apopka. 

Walton Johnson wins Democratic clerk primary 

Roberta Walton Johnson won the Democratic primary for Orange County Clerk of Courts, receiving more than half of the vote in the three-candidate contest. 

Walton Johnson received 47,029 votes, or 53.52%, according to the unofficial results. Former Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh received 25,101 votes, or 28.56%, while Maribel Gomez Cordero, who withdrew from the race before the primary but remained on the ballot, received 15,747 votes, or 17.92%. 

Walton Johnson will advance to the Nov. 3 special general election, where she will face no-party-affiliation candidate Terrell Thomas. 

Thomas told the Chief before Tuesday’s election that he would not hold a primary election watch party but planned to hold one for the Nov. 3 general election. 

The special election follows Russell’s decision to resign as clerk to run for Orange County mayor. Her resignation takes effect Aug. 31. 

In a questionnaire with the Chief before the primary, Walton Johnson pointed to her experience as an attorney and general counsel for the Orange County Clerk of Courts as qualifications for the office. Singh, who previously served as Orange County property appraiser, emphasized his experience managing a county constitutional office. 

Orange County reported 180,814 ballots cast among 804,620 registered voters as of the 2:19 a.m. update Wednesday morning, for a turnout of 22.47%. 

The results remained unofficial Wednesday afternoon. 

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect information from the Wednesday morning update.

Editor’s note: This piece has been updated to reflect the correct counts.