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

See Full Page