Orange County Mayor (runoff)
The county mayor is the county's chief executive: proposes the budget, oversees county departments and staff, and presides over the Board of County Commissioners. Term: 4 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
Runoff lineup and Aug. 18 results from WFTV, Central Florida Public Media and Spectrum News 13. Nonpartisan.
Debates and forums
- 2026-09-21 · Apopka Involved Voters, in partnership with The Apopka Chief — Victory Church, 509 S. Park Ave., Apopka (held)
tiffany_moore_russell, chris_messina - Taped at Spectrum News 13 studios; report published 2026-10-12 (page address suggests an Oct. 14 airing) · Spectrum News 13 televised debate. Held.
Tiffany Moore Russell and Chris Messina - 2026-10-28 · WFTV Channel 9 and the Orlando Economic Partnership; televised one-hour debate moderated by Channel 9 anchors Greg Warmoth and Martha Sugalski. WFTV's Oct. 26 article gives the time as 8 to 9 p.m. (an earlier Orlando Economic Partnership newsletter said 7 p.m.). Watch on WFTV Channel 9, stream live at wftv.com/video, or use WFTV's free news and smart-TV apps. Format: 90-second openings and answers, optional 45-second rebuttals, 60-second closings. Still SCHEDULED as of Oct. 26.
Tiffany Moore Russell and Chris Messina - 2026-09-09 · League of Women Voters of Orange County forum in Winter Park, moderated by former Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin. HELD. Topics included affordable housing and tourist-tax dollars, transit, data centers and home rule.
Tiffany Moore Russell and Chris Messina
Candidates
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Tiffany Moore Russell
Orange County Clerk of Courts. Finished first in the four-way Aug. 18 nonpartisan primary.
Chris Messina
Tech entrepreneur. Finished second in the four-way primary ahead of former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (26%) and Commissioner Mayra Uribe (15%).
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Tiffany Moore Russell Nonpartisan | Chris Messina Nonpartisan |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Pledges to cut about $200 million a year in county programs through audits and zero-based budgeting so the county can invest without raising taxes, and possibly while cutting them. |
| Property taxesFlorida should eliminate or sharply reduce homestead property taxes, even if local governments must cut services or find other revenue. | Strongly disagrees· stated position At the Orange County mayoral runoff forum in Apopka she said she intends to vote against the November state property-tax amendment, citing the difficulty of replacing the lost revenue and the effect on first responders and smaller municipalities. | Strongly agrees· stated position At the Orange County mayoral runoff forum in Apopka he said he supports the November state property-tax amendment, arguing county government can reduce costs while maintaining public safety and that a fire millage increase could cover any shortfall. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· stated position At the same forum she said the county should increase housing supply and shorten its development-approval timelines, and said the way county staff interpret development rules causes costly delays. | Leans agree· stated position At the same forum he proposed redeveloping aging and underused strip malls and shopping centers into mixed-use projects combining housing, retail and other businesses. |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Leans agree· stated position She said she supports the county purchasing rural land to protect its rural boundary. | Leans agree· stated position He proposed establishing wildlife corridors to protect animal crossings. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position At the forum she supported a moratorium on large-scale data-center development and said the county should keep lobbying with the Florida Association of Counties to amend SB 180 and protect local home rule. | Leans agree· stated position Messina supported a moratorium on building data centers; on SB 180 he said he did not think it made sense for the county to fight the state in court. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
Tiffany Moore RussellChris MessinaHow the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree), Teacher and staff pay (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree), Library and classroom materials (agree), School safety approach (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Tiffany Moore Russell | not enough data | not enough data |
| Chris Messina | 0.67 (3 statements) | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Tiffany Moore Russell
- Convention center / hotel tax — Both runoff candidates expressed hesitancy about expanding the Orange County Convention Center and about using additional hotel-tax money for it; Moore Russell also proposed renovating older apartment complexes in Holden Heights and Pine Hills.
- Transit — At the Apopka runoff forum she called for better connections between residents and jobs and voiced support for bus rapid transit.
- Budget and transit (Spectrum News 13 debate) — In the Spectrum News 13 debate, said she would look at consolidating departments, freezing some hiring and timing capital projects, and favors a more connected rail system including seven-day SunRail service.
- Data centers — In an Oct. 2026 News 6 interview, Moore Russell said she does not support the large AI data centers being proposed, citing water use, power demand and water quality, and said she commended the county for seeking a moratorium. Quote: "But I do not support the big data centers, the AI data centers that is being proposed today."
- Jobs and economic development — In a News 6 interview, Moore Russell said the county should provide more incentives to attract businesses, called county permitting an impediment for those who want to invest, and said the county should keep investing in CareerSource and trades training.
Chris Messina
- Housing / redevelopment — Messina said he would push to turn aging strip malls into 'vibrant centers for housing, retail and commercial'; both candidates expressed hesitancy about expanding the convention center.
- Transit — At the Apopka runoff forum he proposed using technology to provide direct trips rather than routing riders through hubs.
- Budget and transit (Spectrum News 13 debate) — In the Spectrum News 13 debate, said he would eliminate redundant programs and shift Lynx toward smaller, point-to-point, on-demand buses.
- Data centers — In an Oct. 2026 News 6 interview, Messina said small data centers are needed but hyperscale data centers are not right for Florida, citing water impact; he suggested data centers make their own energy and said he likes the idea of putting them in space. Quote: "It's the hyperscale data centers, the ones that are football fields in size, those I don't feel are right for Florida."
- Jobs and economic development — In a News 6 interview, Messina described Orange County as a potential "space tech capital," proposed redeveloping blighted strip malls into mixed-use places, and pointed to a shortage of skilled-trades workers.