Stephanie Murphy announces run for Orange County mayor
Former U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy has announced she will be running for Orange County mayor.
Current Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings will be out in 2026 due to term limits.
Three others have announced their candidacy in addition to Murphy.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Former U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy has announced she will be running for Orange County mayor.
Current Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings will be out in 2026 due to term limits, which leaves the race wide open for new candidates. So far, three others have announced their candidacy in addition to Murphy.
What we know
Murphy, 46, joined FOX 35's Amy Kaufeldt for an interview Wednesday morning on Good Day Orlando, where she shared the news that she would be entering the mayoral race in Orange County.
Murphy said her vision for making Orange County and Orlando the best place to live includes increasing the number of housing units, addressing well-paying jobs for affordable living, and investing in infrastructure such as transportation.
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Murphy shared that the 9/11 attacks and the Pulse shooting were two major events that spurred her interest in politics.
The mayoral election will be held on Nov. 3, 2026.
What they're saying
"I'm raising my family in this community, and I want to make it the most livable, safe, affordable community that's out there," Murphy said. "Right now, Orlando is experiencing significant growth, and we have to be able to manage that growth to make it work for everybody here."
"I had an opportunity to live the American dream, and I feel like that's getting further and further out of reach for people," she said. 'We have to make investments into the things that allow people to achieve the American dream, so that their kids have a better future than they had."
Local perspective
Candidates still have time to enter the race and must file their intent for the ballot by June 12, 2026.
Currently, Murphy faces opponents including Orange County Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell, Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe and tech entrepreneur Chris Messina.
Former Congresswoman Val Deming, wife of Jerry Demings, was a rumored candidate to succeed her husband, but announced she would not run last month.
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Dig deeper
Murphy was born in Vietnam, but left the country with her family in 1979.
She grew up in Northern Virginia and completed her undergraduate studies at the College of William & Mary before then enrolling in the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown University. She worked as a national security specialist at the United States Department of Defense, an executive at Sungate Capital and a professor of business at Rollins College.
Murphy, a Democrat, made history when she was the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress in 2016.
She served as the U.S. representative for Florida's seventh congressional district from 2017 to 2023. During that time, Murphy served on the Ways and Means Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, Small Business Committee, and the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan 6th Attack on the Capitol. She left her House seat by choice.
Murphy is a mother of two children, ages 14 and 11.
The Source
This story was written based on information shared by Stephanie Murphy in an interview with FOX 35's Amy Kaufeldt on July 9, 2025.
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