ORLANDO, Fla. -- Voters on Tuesday headed to the polls to cast their votes in Florida's primary election.

  • Jerry Demings elected Orange County mayor
  • Demings received 62 percent of the vote
  • Teresa Jacobs elected chairwoman of school board

In Orange County, voters elected Jerry Demings as their next county mayor.

Demings, 59, avoided a runoff Tuesday by garnering 62 percent of the vote. 

Demings, who has served as Orange County sheriff since 2008, is the first African-American to be elected county mayor. He was also the first African-American to be elected sheriff in Orange County.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters Tuesday night, Demings laid out his top priorities as mayor of Orange County.

"My top four priorities will be on addressing the affordable housing crisis, developing long-term solutions to our regional transportation issues, economic development and enhancing public safety, he said."

Demings faced two opponents: three-term county commissioner Pete Clarke and local businessman Rob Panepinto. Clarke received 22 percent of the vote, while Panepinto had 16 percent.

With his victory, Demings will become the county's fifth mayor, succeeding Teresa Jacobs, who won the race for Orange County School Board chair. Demings will be sworn in as mayor Dec. 4.

Orange County School Board chair

Teresa Jacobs was elected chairwoman of the Orange County School Board on Tuesday.

Jacobs, the current Orange County mayor, received 52 percent of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff in November. She faced three other candidates: educator Matthew J. Fitzpatrick, school board member Nancy Robbinson and Orange County teacher Robert Allen Prater.

Jacobs could not seek re-election as county mayor due to term limits. She will succeed Bill Sublette, who has been chairman of the School Board for eight years. 

Money for school districts

Orange County voters also approved the renewal of a property tax millage that would benefit student programs at Orange County Public Schools.

More than 83 percent of voters chose to renew the tax. A little more than 16 percent of voters were opposed.

School officials said money from the special property tax would go toward academic, arts and sports programs.

The tax is expected to raise upward of $130 million in the next year, according to school officials. Voters first approved the measure in 2010. It was then renewed in 2014. Following Tuesday's vote, the tax will remain in place for another four years.

Voters in Marion and Lake counties also approved adding or continuing taxes for school safety and mental health services (Lake) and operating expense (Marion).

Other Central Florida mayoral races

Multiple Central Florida cities voted in new mayors Tuesday, with others having to face runoff elections in November.

Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett failed to win a majority of the vote Tuesday. Triplett, who received 49 percent of the vote, will face Pasha Baker in a runoff Nov. 6. Baker received 23 percent of the vote. Two other candidates in the race, Nancy Groves and Victoria Robinson, each received 14 percent of the vote.

Triplett was first elected mayor of Sanford in 2010. He faced growing racial tensions in the city following the 2012 fatal shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin. 

Meanwhile, in Clermont, mayoral candidates Gail Ash and Jack Kruse will also face a runoff in November. Ash, the incumbent, received 48.5 percent of the vote. Kruse received 29.8 percent. Holly Hill voters elected Chris Via mayor over Mike Chuven. The mayoral races in Deltona and New Smyrna Beach also will go to runoffs.

Click here to see election results statewide.