Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is throwing his name in the race to become Florida's next governor, according to paperwork filed with the Florida Division of Elections this week.
Demings, 66, joins former U.S. Rep. David Jolly for the Democratic nomination. Jolly, a former Republican, entered the race in June.
Congressman Byron Donalds and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner are currently vying for the Republican nomination to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited. Both primary elections are set for Aug. 18, 2026.
"Florida Democrats are clearly unimpressed with David Jolly's Charlie Crist impersonation and find themselves flailing to find a candidate for governor who has been a Democrat for more than five minutes," Republican Governors Association (RGA) Communications Director Courtney Alexander said on Demings' run.
Demings has been Orange County's mayor since 2018. In his latest run in 2022, Demings was elected with over 60% of the vote.
Along with his political service, Demings was the sheriff of Orange County from 2009 to 2018 and the City of Orlando's chief of police from 1998 to 2002.
Demings is married to former U.S. Rep. Val Demings, who was the Democratic nominee for Senate in 2022 against then- Republican incumbent Senator Marco Rubio. Demings was crushed in the race, losing to Rubio by over 16 points.
Mr. Demings is hoping for a better result in 2026.
But it won't be an easy talk. His opponent, Jolly, has already earned several endorsements from current and former Democratic leaders.
He also laid out an extensive police platform to The Floridian back in June.
And if Demings gets out of that, he likely will be up against his toughest challenge, defeating the Republican machine. Florida has not elected a Democratic governor since 1994, and Republicans have held the governorship since 1999.
Most recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis defeated Democrat Charlie Crist by over 19 points in 2022.
The Republican Party has also dominated Florida on the national front, with President Donald Trump winning the state by 13 points over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
The winner of the Democratic primary election will likely face off with Rep. Byron Donalds, who was endorsed by President Donald for governor earlier this year.
"Florida Democrats' agenda has been repeatedly rejected by the voters, and they have no record to run on but failure, making Jerry Demings the perfect addition to a primary field with no meaningful accomplishments beyond self-promotion," Alexander added. "Demings is all but guaranteed to help set a new all-time low for a state Democratic Party that regularly feels compelled to test the absolute floor of support.”
Demings is expected to make a formal announcement on his run for governor on Thursday.
