2018 Orange County, Florida mayoral election

2018 Orange County, Florida mayoral election

←  2014 August 28, 2018 2022  →

Candidate Jerry Demings Pete Clarke Rob Panepinto Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 114,579 40,906 30,453 Percentage 61.62% 22.00% 16.38%

Mayor before election Teresa Jacobs Nonpartisan Elected mayor Jerry Demings Nonpartisan

The 2018 Orange County, Florida, mayoral election took place on August 28, 2018. Incumbent Mayor Teresa Jacobs was term-limited and could not run for a third consecutive term. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, a Democrat, ran to succeed Jacobs. He faced two Republican opponents in the nonpartisan primary election: County Commissioner Pete Clarke and business consultant Rob Panepinto. Demings defeated both of them by a wide margin, winning 62 percent of the vote to Clarke's 22 percent and Panepinto's 16 percent, avoiding the need for a runoff election.

Primary election

Candidates

• Jerry Demings, Orange County Sheriff (Democratic) ^[1]
• Pete Clarke, Orange County Commissioner (Republican) ^[2]
• Rob Panepinto, nonprofit and business consultant (Republican) ^[3]

Results

2018 Orange County, Florida, mayoral election ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jerry Demings	114,579	61.62%
	Nonpartisan	Pete Clarke	40,906	22.00%
	Nonpartisan	Rob Panepinto	30,453	16.38%
Total votes			185,938	100.00%

References

1. Hayes, Christal (July 7, 2017). "Sheriff Jerry Demings files to run for Orange County mayor". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. p. B1. Retrieved July 6, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. Lemongello, Steven (October 11, 2017). "Clarke jumps in race for Orange mayor". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. p. B2. Retrieved July 6, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. Lemongello, Steven (October 3, 2017). "Nonprofit consultant running for Orange mayor". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. p. B2. Retrieved July 6, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "2018 Primary Election - Official Summary Results" (PDF). Orange County Supervisor of Elections. August 31, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2025.