Tiffany Moore Russell beat Chris Messina 63% to 37% for Orange County mayor, and 79% backed the school millage. Every county race and how Orange voted on the amendments.
Tiffany Moore Russell will be the next Orange County mayor. She won 62.8% of the vote to Chris Messina’s 37.2% in Tuesday’s election, according to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections’ results. That is 278,746 votes to 164,941.
Orange County voters also agreed to keep the school district’s extra one mill of property tax for four more years. The School Board question passed with 78.7% voting yes.
All figures here are unofficial. They were posted with 261 of the county’s 263 precincts reporting, as of Wednesday evening. The county canvassing board certifies the final count.
County races
The county mayor, County Commission and School Board races are nonpartisan, so no party appears on the ballot. The winners, from the supervisor’s results:
| Race | Winner | Vote | Runner-up | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County mayor | Tiffany Moore Russell | 62.8% | Chris Messina | 37.2% |
| County Commission, District 2 | Kamia Brown | 63.3% | Mike Crabb | 36.7% |
| County Commission, District 4 | Johanna Lopez | 64.6% | Brian Jones | 34.8% |
| County Commission, District 6 | Michael “Mike” Scott | 55.6% | Lawanna Gelzer | 44.5% |
| County Commission, District 7 | Patricia Rumph | 69.4% | Vicki Vargo | 30.6% |
| County Commission, District 8 | Victor M. Torres Jr. | 57.3% | Jeannette Quinones Hernandez | 42.7% |
| School Board, District 3 | Susanne Peña | 58.2% | Diana Moore | 41.9% |
| Clerk of Courts | Roberta Walton Johnson (D) | 70.3% | Terrell Thomas (NPA) | 29.7% |
| Circuit judge, 9th Circuit, Group 1 | Temika Hampton-Johnson | 66.1% | Charles Hart | 33.9% |
The District 8 count had 28 of 29 precincts in when we checked. Every other commission race had all of its precincts reporting.
The three Orange Soil and Water Conservation District seats went to Quinnie Perez (District 1, 42.6% in a three-way race), José Antonio Rodriguez (District 3, 37.4%, also three-way) and Jimm Middleton (District 5, 56.8%).
The school tax question
The question asked whether the School Board of Orange County should “continue the current one mill ad valorem millage for essential operating expenses.” The county’s sample ballot lists teacher and support staff pay, academic programs, arts, athletics and student activities. The money is shared with charter schools, as the law requires.
The vote was 351,400 yes to 95,327 no. The current levy carries on, so this is not a new tax. The approved period runs from July 1, 2027, to June 30, 2031.
One mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. On a home with a $250,000 taxable value, that is $250 a year. Our property taxes page explains how your bill is worked out.
State and federal races in Orange County
Orange County voted heavily Democratic up the ballot. These are the county’s own figures, not the statewide result:
- Governor: David Jolly 64.1%, Byron Donalds 34.6%
- U.S. Senate: Angie Nixon 63.8%, Ashley Moody 35.3%
- Attorney general: Jose Javier Rodriguez 65.1%, James Uthmeier 34.9%
- Chief financial officer: Annette Taddeo 64.5%, Blaise Ingoglia 35.5%
- Agriculture commissioner: Joey Mendoza Atkins 64.4%, Wilton Simpson 35.2%
Statewide winners are declared by the Florida Division of Elections from all 67 counties. Our figures cover only the Orange County share of those votes.
In the U.S. House races, Orange County’s part of each district voted this way:
- District 8: Jennifer Jenkins (D) 63.3%, Mike Haridopolos (R) 36.7%
- District 9: Darren Soto (D) 64.5%, Dan Green (R) 35.5%
- District 11: James Pericola (D) 58.2%, Joe Strada (R) 40.7%
Each of those districts reaches into other counties, so the Orange County count does not decide them.
For the Legislature, the Orange County results were:
- State Senate, District 10: John Lowndes (D) 61.9%, Jason Brodeur (R) 38.1%
- State House, District 35: Eric Gray (D) 59.9%, Erika Booth (R) 40.1%
- State House, District 37: Jane Aman (D) 67.4%, Robert Prater (R) 32.6%
- State House, District 39: Jarod Fox (D) 59.0%, Doug Bankson (R) 41.0%
- State House, District 40: Ra’Shon Young (D) 75.2%, Tuan Le (R) 24.9%
- State House, District 42: Felipe Sousa Lazaballet (D) 62.4%, Bonnie Jackson (R) 37.6%
- State House, District 43: Samuel Vilchez Santiago (D) 66.2%, Jorge Malavet (R) 33.8%
- State House, District 45: Leonard Spencer (D) 54.4%, Erin Huntley (R) 45.6%
Senate District 10 and House Districts 35 and 39 also take in voters outside Orange County, so check the state’s count for the final word.
How Orange County voted on the amendments
A Florida constitutional amendment needs 60% of the vote statewide to pass, under Article XI, Section 5 of the state constitution. None of the three reached 60% in Orange County:
- Amendment 1 (raise the budget stabilization fund cap from 10% to 25% of general revenue): 35.2% yes
- Amendment 2 (exempt tangible personal property on agricultural land from tax): 47.3% yes
- Amendment 3 (raise the homestead exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and cut the cap on non-homestead assessment increases from 10% to 5%): 50.9% yes
Whether each amendment passed depends on the statewide count, which the Florida Division of Elections reports. Amendment 3 would change property tax bills across the state from Jan. 1, 2027, if it passed statewide.
Orange voters also chose not to retain Florida Supreme Court Justice Carlos G. Muñiz, 53.8% to 46.2%. Retention is decided by a simple majority statewide.
What it means for you
- A new county mayor. Moore Russell takes over the mayor’s office at the Orange County Administration Center on Rosalind Avenue. Inside Orlando, trash pickup, city police and city streets still come from the city; see who to call at City Hall.
- No change to the school tax rate from this vote. The extra mill was already on your bill. A no vote would have ended it after June 30, 2027.
- Results are not final yet. The figures can change slightly as the last precincts, provisional and overseas ballots are counted. The supervisor’s office posts updates on its election results page.
- No city of Orlando races were on this ballot. Our voting page explains how to register or update your record for the next election.
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