Tiffany Moore Russell declares victory in Orange County mayoral runoff

Tiffany Moore Russell declared victory Tuesday night in the Orange County mayoral runoff against businessman Chris Messina.Unofficial AP results showed Moore Russell with 266,945 votes, or 63%, compared with Messina’s 158,247 votes, or 37%. A total of 425,192 votes had been reported.The candidates competed to succeed term-limited Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.Follow Channel 9’s complete Florida and Central Florida election results. Runoff followed four-candidate August electionMoore Russell and Messina advanced to the November runoff after finishing first and second in August.The field also included former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy and Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe. No candidate received the majority needed to win outright.Moore Russell entered the race as Orange County’s clerk of courts. Messina is a businessman.Channel 9’s Daralene Jones covered Moore Russell’s campaign, while Dave Jordan covered Messina’s campaign.Election results remain unofficial u