Jacob Ogles
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings hasn’t announced whether he is running for Governor yet. But he already has the attention of the incoming head of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
State Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, said he would celebrate if the Orlando Democrat makes a run for Florida Governor.
“A Jerry Demings candidacy would be a dream for Florida Republicans,” Gruters said. “His spouse just lost by an embarrassing 16 points on a statewide ballot, and his humiliating cave on the wildly popular ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ shows he doesn’t have the backbone to lead a state like Florida.”
Demings is married to former U.S. Rep. Val Demings, the 2022 Democratic nominee for Senate. Then-U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican, won a third term easily that election cycle.
Rubio’s landslide win helped contribute to a national belief that Florida was no longer a swing state. The same year, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis defeated Democratic challenger Charlie Crist by an even larger 19 percentage points.
Jerry Demings made statewide news this month when he signed an addendum to a state agreement allowing Orange County Correctional Officers to transport immigrant detainees from Orlando to a controversial detainment center in the Everglades.
The Mayor and former Orange County Sheriff had complained that it put an unfair strain on resources, but agreed to the deal after Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened to remove him from office for violating Florida’s sanctuary cities ban, a law notably sponsored by Gruters in the Senate in 2019.
Gruters, who is expected to be elected as RNC Chair next week, said he’s ready to deliver the Demings family another embarrassing defeat. And he suggested a Democratic candidate for New York City Mayor will help make that easier.
“Republicans have already proven that Florida is no longer a battleground — it’s solid red,” Gruters said. “Floridians want leaders in the mold of President (Donald) Trump, not radical mayors akin to New York’s Zohran Mamdani.”
