Floridians will cast their votes on a variety of races and amendments in less than two weeks. The local elections, like the race for Orange County sheriff, are heating up, too.

  • Incumbent Jerry Demings taking on challenger Spike Hopkins
  • Demings elected sheriff in 2008; Hopkins worked at the agency for 30 years
  • Get the latest political news with our Florida Decides coverage

Republican Spike Hopkins will go up against his former boss at the agency, incumbent Jerry Demings, a Democrat.

"I saw what was going on on the inside, and I saw the crime on the outside, and enough is enough," Hopkins said. "Somebody needed to step out there and do something about this."

Hopkins said he spent the last 30 years with the Sheriff's Office and retired to run for the position. Now, he spends most days campaigning and sign-waving.

"It's very important to me that I stay in contact with the people out here," he said. "And as sheriff, I'm going to do the same."

Hopkins said he plans to tackle many issues, from red light cameras to moral and deputy retention. He also wants to host monthly town halls and create an app to show deputy dispatches, which will also let neighbors rate the service they received.

"I believe in good customer service and accountability," Hopkins said. "I want to know what we're doing right (and) I want to know what we're doing wrong so we can fix it."

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Demings said recruitment and retention for government jobs in general is challenging.

"In terms of morale, I think morale is good," he added.

Demings said he dreamed of service as sheriff since he was a child, which prompted him to initially run for the position eight years ago.

"The very first deputy sheriff in Orange County, he lived in my neighborhood," Demings said with a smile. "When I got to be an adult after college, I decided that I wanted to try law enforcement as a career."

Demings started as a patrol officer. In 1998, he became the first African American chief of police in Orlando. He was elected as Orange County's sheriff in 2008.

"It's a very humbling experience because I get to make some decisions and provide some service to this community that I believe make a difference in peoples' lives every day," Demings said.

A UCF political science professor said it will be an uphill challenge for Demings' opponent, Hopkins.

"The challenger in this case has got his hands full because Orange County is a pretty heavily Democratic county," said Dr. Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida.

Jewett said the path to victory — for either candidate — will involve work.

“They have to get in front of voters and try to get their name recognition up and try to let people know how enthusiastic they are about this job," he said. “Even if you don’t live in Orange County, you may be impacted by the decisions that they make. Crime doesn’t necessarily follow county boundaries.”

Demings said he’s confident he will get re-elected.

"I've been tested, and I'm a proven commodity in this community," he said. "I very humbly serve, and I'm very visible in this community. And I hope to continue to do so. The public, they've seen me now. They don't have to guess what kind of job I'm going to do."

 As for Hopkins, he plans to continue canvassing Orange County and meeting with potential voters.

"It's definitely an uphill battle because he's a politician," Hopkins said. "He calls himself the chief executive. He's not. He should be the sheriff. And that's the difference between (him and me). I can't wait to get back in that green polyester and go out there and do what you, the taxpayer, pays me to do. And that's to keep you safe."

Both candidates said that if they are elected, they want to improve community policing and foster partnerships between deputies and the neighborhoods in which they serve.