Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (D) is reportedly gearing up to run for Florida Governor, and he could be making the announcement soon.
Mayor Demings, whose wife and former Rep. Val Demings (D) ran an unsuccessful bid against Senator Marco Rubio (R), is facing accusations of overtaxing and unnecessary county spending.
This week, Mayor Demings and Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia (R) traded blows over the controversy.
During a press conference in Orlando, CFO Ingoglia accused the mayor of “excessive and wasteful” spending, suggesting that residents are overtaxed by at least $148 per person. The Florida CFO said that Orange County could “easily” cut nearly $200 million from its $8.2 billion budget.
“Anyone who sits back and thinks that in five years a budget goes from $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion for only 79,000 people, it’s sort of common sense that they’re wasting a crap ton of this money,” the Florida CFO said.
Demings, who is nearing the end of his final mayoral term, pushed back against the accusations, commenting that “[Ingoglia] ought to get his own house in order first before he goes looking in someone else’s house.”
During a press conference, while fielding questions, Mayor Demings was asked if he was considering a gubernatorial run.
“I’m not saying I’m not going to run. Given all these things that have been happening? I might just do that,” he responded.
Republicans have lined up for a chance at the governor’s post, and the primary is poised to see an ideological clash between President Donald Trump (R) and Governor Ron DeSantis (R) if Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins (R) decides to challenge Rep. Byron Donalds (R), who’s already received an endorsement from the president.
Should Mayor Demings decide to announce his candidacy, he would face former Rep. David Jolly (D) in the Democratic primary.
