ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiffany Moore Russell will be the next mayor of Orange County, the county that includes Orlando, after she defeated businessman Chris Messina in Tuesday’s runoff. No Black woman had won the county’s top office before her.
Unofficial returns late Tuesday gave Moore Russell 266,945 votes, about 63%, to 158,247 for Messina, roughly 37%, with 425,192 ballots tallied. The count is not final until it is certified.
The two reached the November ballot by placing first and second in August, when a four-way field that also featured former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy and County Commissioner Mayra Uribe left no one with a majority. The winner replaces Mayor Jerry Demings, who could not run again because of term limits.
Party labels do not appear on the mayoral ballot, though the winner is a registered Democrat and her rival a Republican. Moore Russell leaned on her long record in county government, including her time as Orange County clerk of courts, while Messina pitched himself as an outsider with business experience.
Her first big test is already on the table. The same ballot carried Amendment 3, the statewide property tax measure, which passed in Florida and drew narrow support from Orange County voters even though Moore Russell opposed it. County figures estimate local property tax revenue would fall by about $165 million in 2027 and by another $275 million the year after.
Moore Russell said a group on her transition team will focus on county finances and recommend how to cover the lost money without cutting services residents count on. Messina said the result was disappointing but not a surprise, pointing to a large fundraising gap between the campaigns.
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