Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings begins Florida Gov. campaign

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings formally announced his candidacy for Governor of Florida in 2026 in a packed ballroom of supporters at the Rosen Centre on Orlando’s International Drive Thursday evening.Demings said he wants to turn the page on toxic and divisive politics and bring a new style of leadership to Tallahassee.“They call me woke,” Demings said during his speech. “I don’t know what they mean by woke, but after nearly four and a half decades of dedicated unblemished service, they woke me up.” “This is not a left or right moment,” Demings said. “This is a right or wrong moment in our history. The power of the people are greater than the people in power.”In a one-on-one interview with WESH 2 after his speech, Demings said restoring power that he says has been stripped away from local governments will be a focal point of his campaign. “My colleagues in the state, I talk to them,” Demings said. “They’re frustrated. We’re not doing some of the things we can do as a state because we’re not working together.”To address the affordability crisis and prevent Floridians from fleeing the Sunshine State, Demings said wages need to go up and the cost of housing needs to be stabilized.”My goal is to engage the private sector in working with the public sector to come up with solutions that will address those issues,” Demings said.Orange County’s Mayor enters an already crowded field in the open race to replace Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.Former Republican Congressman David Jolly from Tampa Bay announced his run for the Democratic Party’s nomination in June. He has already held more than 100 campaign events.”There’s a lot we can do to change people’s lives right here in Central Florida,” Jolly said in a sit-down interview with WESH 2 on Wednesday. “I respect that Demings has had a long career in this area, but he has to run a statewide race as well.”On the Republican side, there’s former State House Speaker Paul Renner and Congressman Byron Donalds from Southwest Florida. Donalds picked up an endorsement from President Trump when he declared his candidacy last February. “I’m not really thinking about Jerry or David,” Donalds told WESH 2 political reporter Greg Fox. “I think the concern that Floridians would have with both of them is that they’re going to support the same radical Democrat agenda that has been soundly rejected in Florida.” Demings said the voters will decide who is the most experienced candidate in this race, but he believes his more than four decades in law enforcement and public service speak for themselves. “Some of these candidates are in their 40s,” he said, “so I’ve been doing it almost as long as they’ve been alive. In some cases, longer than they’ve been alive.”Demings told WESH 2 he is asking for grace from Orange County residents as he hits the campaign trail across the state and tries to become Florida’s first Democratic governor since the 1990s. Former Orlando police Chief and Congresswoman Val Demings introduced her husband. Notable local officials such as Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Sheriff John Mina and several Orange County and City of Orlando commissioners were in attendance. Florida’s primary election will take place on Aug. 18, 2026.If Demings can win the General Election next November, he would become the state’s first African-American governor.

FLORIDA, USA —

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings formally announced his candidacy for Governor of Florida in 2026 in a packed ballroom of supporters at the Rosen Centre on Orlando’s International Drive Thursday evening.

Demings said he wants to turn the page on toxic and divisive politics and bring a new style of leadership to Tallahassee.

“They call me woke,” Demings said during his speech. “I don’t know what they mean by woke, but after nearly four and a half decades of dedicated unblemished service, they woke me up.”

“This is not a left or right moment,” Demings said. “This is a right or wrong moment in our history. The power of the people are greater than the people in power.”

In a one-on-one interview with WESH 2 after his speech, Demings said restoring power that he says has been stripped away from local governments will be a focal point of his campaign.

“My colleagues in the state, I talk to them,” Demings said. “They’re frustrated. We’re not doing some of the things we can do as a state because we’re not working together.”

To address the affordability crisis and prevent Floridians from fleeing the Sunshine State, Demings said wages need to go up and the cost of housing needs to be stabilized.

“My goal is to engage the private sector in working with the public sector to come up with solutions that will address those issues,” Demings said.

Orange County’s Mayor enters an already crowded field in the open race to replace Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Former Republican Congressman David Jolly from Tampa Bay announced his run for the Democratic Party’s nomination in June. He has already held more than 100 campaign events.

“There’s a lot we can do to change people’s lives right here in Central Florida,” Jolly said in a sit-down interview with WESH 2 on Wednesday. “I respect that Demings has had a long career in this area, but he has to run a statewide race as well.”

On the Republican side, there’s former State House Speaker Paul Renner and Congressman Byron Donalds from Southwest Florida.

Donalds picked up an endorsement from President Trump when he declared his candidacy last February.

“I’m not really thinking about Jerry or David,” Donalds told WESH 2 political reporter Greg Fox. “I think the concern that Floridians would have with both of them is that they’re going to support the same radical Democrat agenda that has been soundly rejected in Florida.”

Demings said the voters will decide who is the most experienced candidate in this race, but he believes his more than four decades in law enforcement and public service speak for themselves.

“Some of these candidates are in their 40s,” he said, “so I’ve been doing it almost as long as they’ve been alive. In some cases, longer than they’ve been alive.”

Demings told WESH 2 he is asking for grace from Orange County residents as he hits the campaign trail across the state and tries to become Florida’s first Democratic governor since the 1990s.

Former Orlando police Chief and Congresswoman Val Demings introduced her husband.

Notable local officials such as Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Sheriff John Mina and several Orange County and City of Orlando commissioners were in attendance.

Florida’s primary election will take place on Aug. 18, 2026.

If Demings can win the General Election next November, he would become the state’s first African-American governor.