![\"Apopka](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TOS-L-ApopkaMayorElection5941.jpg\")
Apopka mayoral candidate Christine Moore (white jacket) looks over results with supporters at Just Like Momma’s Soul Food & Wings in Apopka on Tuesday, April 14, 21026. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\nApopka Commissioner Nick Nesta won the city\u2019s mayoral runoff in a landslide Tuesday, defeating a longtime officeholder who had the backing of the outgoing mayor.<\/p>\n
Nesta, a relative newcomer to politics, captured about 62% of the vote against Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore. Moore had been endorsed by Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson and had argued her years of experience in office made her the better candidate.<\/p>\n
Nesta, who called Moore and Nelson career politicians, presented himself as the anti-establishment candidate and said he was the change Apopka needed. All three candidates in the officially nonpartisan race are registered Republicans.<\/p>\n
Apopka mayoral candidate Christine Moore (white jacket) looks over results with supporters at Just Like Momma’s Soul Food & Wings in Apopka on Tuesday, April 14, 21026. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n
Nelson had been seeking a third term in office, but was eliminated from the race last month in a three-way contest in which he came in last place, leaving Moore and Nesta to battle in the runoff.<\/p>\n
The mayor\u2019s post for the city of about 63,000 in northwestern Orange, the second largest city in the county, is a full-time job paying $133,350 annually. Voters last month rejected a ballot amendment that would have transformed the mayor\u2019s post into a largely ceremonial office that would have paid $17,400, the same as other city council members.<\/p>\n
Nesta, 36, a realtor and owner of Nesta Real Estate Consultants, was elected to the city commission in a special election in 2022 and reelected last year. Because of Florida\u2019s resign-to-run law, he had already announced he would leave his commission seat effective April 28, the date he will be sworn in as mayor.<\/p>\n
Nesta made a Facebook post Wednesday thanking voters for their support. He also thanked Moore and Nelson for their public service.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis campaign has been completely built on and by the residents. With this election, you all showed you are ready for change\u2026,\u201d he wrote in the post. \u201cWe have a long way to go and a lot of hard work in front of us and I feel confident in our bright future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither Nesta nor Moore responded to requests for interviews.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Nesta said his priorities include supporting responsible growth, improving infrastructure, strengthening communication with residents and ensuring city government operates with transparency and responsiveness.<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s runoff marked an end to a tumultuous campaign season.<\/p>\n
The unlikely alliance between Moore and Nelson followed a legal battle between the two where Nelson had sued to get Moore removed from the race over her residency. He alleged Moore hadn\u2019t lived in Apopka for as long as she said, but dropped the lawsuit after he was eliminated from the race and endorsed Moore.<\/p>\n
Their rapprochement was in part motivated by Nelson\u2019s personal history with Nesta, particularly an incident in 2024 where Nesta unsuccessfully attempted to press charges against Nelson\u2019s wife for allegedly pushing him. During that case, Apopka\u2019s then-police chief voiced concerns Nesta was trying to intimidate him and influence how the police department handled it.<\/p>\n
In February, police were also called during an altercation involving Moore and Nesta before a mayoral debate. Two people alleged Moore had become aggressive while speaking with Nesta, according to a police report. Moore told the Orlando Sentinel that Nesta\u2019s mother had put her hands in her face, causing her to feel threatened.<\/p>\n
Nesta has also been accused by fellow Apopka Commissioner Nadia Anderson of allegedly using \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d legal tactics against multiple women in prominent local roles, including herself, Moore and Nelson\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n
Moore has shared Anderson\u2019s concerns, criticized Nesta for his professional ties to Christopher Delgado, an Apopka resident who federal prosecutors say operated a $328 million Ponzi scheme, and accused him of causing dysfunction at commission meetings.<\/p>\n
Moore, 65, who is term-limited this year after being elected to the county commission in 2018 and 2022, will also have to leave her seat several months early because of the state\u2019s resign-to-run law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apopka Commissioner Nick Nesta won the city\u2019s mayoral runoff in a landslide Tuesday, defeating a longtime officeholder who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[10514,2811,28,114,115,1335,139,141,140,99,109],"class_list":["post-233661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-apopka","tag-election","tag-florida","tag-latest-headlines","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-politics","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}