Former Rep. Stephanie Murphy announces bid for local office in Florida

Mary Ellen McIntire, CQ-Roll Call on Jul 9, 2025

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WASHINGTON — Former Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy, once a leader of centrist Democrats in the House, announced Wednesday that she is running for mayor of Orange County, home to Orlando.

“You may know me as your former congresswoman,” Murphy says in a video announcing her campaign. “Before I ever stepped foot in Washington, I worked in business, helping companies grow, solve problems and cut through red tape. And now I want to bring that same approach to local government.”

Murphy was first elected to the House in 2016, flipping a Republican-held seat that became more Democratic after mid-decade redistricting. During her tenure in the House, she served as a co-chair of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition and also in House Democratic leadership, becoming chief deputy whip in her final term.

In late 2021, Murphy announced she wouldn’t seek reelection to her 7th District seat, which Republican Cory Mills flipped the following year after it was made redder in redistricting. In announcing her retirement, Murphy cited a need to spend more time with her family, whom she also referenced in her launch video for Orange County mayor.

“My husband and I are raising our kids here,” she said. “Just like you, I’ve got skin in the game.”

Murphy joins three other hopefuls so far in the officially nonpartisan open race to lead Florida’s fifth-largest county, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Term-limited incumbent Jerry Demings is the husband of Democrat Val B. Demings, Murphy’s former House colleague who said recently that she wouldn’t seek to succeed her husband. Like Murphy, Val Demings also left Congress after 2022, losing a Senate race to Republican Marco Rubio.

Orange County is one of just six counties in Florida that backed Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election. While Harris carried the county by 14 points, Donald Trump cut his margins by nearly 10 points from 2020, as the onetime battleground state took a decidedly red turn.

Murphy had previously ruled out a run for statewide office in 2026, noting that she left Congress in favor of more time with her family. But in a state where Democrats have struggled in recent years, the former congresswoman has remained a vocal presence within the party.

After Democrats posted stronger-than-expected performances in a pair of House special elections in Florida earlier this year, Murphy told Politico that the millions raised by the party for those two races could have been better spent.

“What I wish would happen when there’s this kind of energy and enthusiasm and resources coming into the state is that these campaigns would use some of that money to build for future cycles, as opposed to spending it on outside consultants and leaving no infrastructure in its wake,” she said.

“If you want to change Florida, it might take a couple of cycles to close the voter registration gap,” she added.

Republicans overtook Democrats among active registered voters in Florida in 2020, and as of the end of May, the Sunshine State’s Division of Elections reported 5.5 million active Republicans to 4.2 million Democrats.