Politics
Patrick Carr wants to shake up Orlando politics
Patrick Carr says he’s here to disrupt Central Florida politics.
The social media influencer and host of “The Patrick Carr Show” isn’t afraid to challenge the establishment or tackle subjects sometimes overlooked by the mainstream media.
Carr livestreams his daily show about Orlando politics and local news. It has gained followers since launching in March.
Politicians from Lt. Gov. Jay Collins on the right to Anna Eskamani on the left are sitting down with Carr for lengthy interviews.
“I want this place to be where everybody can come here and get their voice heard,” Carr said.
Carr is a Republican — although it’s complicated.
He isn’t afraid to criticize the GOP or praise Democrats. He is also known for calling for less government spending, taking aim at Visit Orlando and championing downtown Orlando.
Early on, Carr posted a rant about downtown Orlando’s struggling nightlife that he said garnered half a million views.
He realized he was onto something.
“I wanted to bring attention to the problems that were obvious to residents, but that were being ignored by the city and by the county,” said Carr, who wears a “Fix Orlando” baseball hat, merch he sells for $29.99 on his website.
“I’m watching a city that is stuck between … the largest university in the country and the No. 1 tourist destination. And I’m watching a city that you can drive through right now and not see one crane in downtown Orlando, not one building is going up,” Carr told Florida Politics in an interview. “Now go to Miami. Go to Tampa. Go to Jacksonville. These cities are expanding. These cities are growing. Orlando downtown, it’s dying.”
Tensions between downtown Orlando business owners and the city escalated into a federal lawsuit in 2024.
Carr’s recent episode featured a downtown Orlando club owner frustrated that the city continues to charge a select group of establishments thousands of dollars each month for additional police protection, while other bars and large, city-owned venues pay nothing.
Police-protection fees under the After-Midnight Alcohol Sales permit program have cost 39 businesses more than $4.3 million from June 2023 to August 2025, according to the National Independent Venue Association, which is fighting to end the fees on behalf of the local businesses.
An Orlando city spokeswoman defended the fees, saying they offset downtown public safety costs and have helped reduce crime by 20% in downtown.
Carr’s emergence as a political commentator straddling the line between journalist and influencer comes as traditional media outlets shrink and face mounting economic pressures.
“You do have now individuals who have technology at their fingertips, who can create content and market themselves and are really good and successful at that and can share content across different social media streams … This is where throngs of younger people are consuming the news or are getting informed about society,” said Harrison Hove, who chairs the University of Florida’s journalism department.
“It is absolutely in a politician’s best interest to engage with this because that’s where a huge demographic of our society and population exists in terms of like a news ecosystem or a media ecosystem.”
“The Patrick Carr Show” films in a studio smaller than most people’s living rooms.
Behind the scenes, producer Anthony Mayorga plays the calming counterbalance to the more animated and aggressive Carr. Mayorga is the only employee helping Carr film the show.
The studio is located in an unidentified commercial building in Altamonte Springs where Carr operates his marketing company to promote roofing, HVAC and other trades around the country.
Angie Nixon once accused Carr of being a paid operative, a claim Carr denies.
Carr said his marketing company is how he makes his living and he doesn’t get paid for his political commentary. Florida Politics found no records of Carr or his business receiving money from politicians on state and federal campaign finance databases.
Meanwhile, Carr countered that his political commentary “has cost me dearly. I’ve lost clients. I’ve lost money.”
He said he has received cease and desist letters although he declined to show them to a journalist, citing advice from his lawyer.
Sometimes strangers approach him to tell him how wrong he is. Those interactions can be unnerving, like when he is pumping gas. Still, Carr acknowledged it’s his choice to become a public figure and do his show.
Carr conceded, “I can be overzealous in what I do” but said he is passionate about urging politicians to remember the middle class of Orlando and make the community better for the average person.
“I want to try to offer an opinion that people know is mine and real,” he said.
Carr said even he is surprised by the viral success of “The Patrick Carr Show.”
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” Carr said.
Carr studied hotel management at the University of Florida and worked in concierge through the Disney College Program at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort and Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. His career pivoted over the years to working in Marriott’s timeshares and then to flipping foreclosed homes.
His current gig is self-taught. He went to “YouTube University” to learn how to edit videos, which led to him starting his Blue Collar Media Group and marketing the trades.
Not all of Carr’s commentary has landed successfully.
Carr once criticized Visit Orlando for what he said was misspending for giving money to Meeting Movers, a transportation company he accused of being a shell company. Orlando Shine, an online news site, refuted Carr’s allegations and interviewed the Meeting Movers owner to get her side of the story.
Carr admitted he got his take wrong and looking back, called it a mistake.
He said he privately apologized to the business owner.
“I’m going to make a mistake,” Carr said as he reflected on the past year. “And when I do, try to show me some grace because I am so flawed.”
Another time, Carr invited Democrat Eric Gray on for an in-depth interview. Later, Gray’s opponent, then-Republican Rep. Erika Booth, used Gray’s remarks in attack mailers. Carr said the quotes were taken out of context.
Furious, Carr called Booth out publicly. Booth later lost her House District 35 seat in the Nov. 3 election.
Carr’s own political leanings have taken a winding path.
He voted for Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Now, he said he feels disenfranchised by Trump as the country is at war with Iran and some people struggle economically.
His views are nuanced, like those of most Americans.
Carr said he is anti-abortion but he once supported a friend who needed an abortion. He was appalled and angry at anti-abortion protesters yelling at her.
He supports local police officers enforcing federal immigration laws but questions why Dreamers can’t attend community college and pay in-state tuition.
He expressed frustration that Orange County and Orlando elected officials are all Democrats. The last Republican was voted out Nov. 3.
“I saw people go further to the left than what I’m comfortable with, and that concerns me a lot,” Carr said.
“There’s no checks or balances to it. Nobody says anything at all about the people that actually make the decisions. No one goes after them in a way that’s meaningful. What I do on this show is name people. I want to tell you you’re wrong. And then if you want to come back at me, I encourage the discourse, but at least it starts the conversation. I’m a free speech absolutist and that’s what I want to do. I want to try to start that conversation because if we can identify the problem first, we’re halfway to finding the solution.”
He said he has no political ambitions of his own and lives in Winter Park, meaning he cannot run for Orlando Mayor.
Carr, 40, is a commanding presence as a former bodybuilder with big biceps, tattoos and bro energy.
But Carr isn’t afraid to get emotional on his show either. He is bothered deeply by news stories where the victims are animals and children. He talks about suicide prevention and alludes to his past troubles with substance abuse and debt.
“My life is one of immense pain because of unrealized and underachievement, poor decisions. … A lot of self-inflicted pain in my life. Bad decisions and bad choices,” Carr said. “Every single person is struggling with a battle that you can’t see. I believe that in my heart. And I don’t know if you’ve heard on my show, I think the most profound prayer you can have for a person is that they win the battle today they tell nobody about.”
“I’m not a politician, OK?” he continued. “Blue, red, I don’t give a shit about any of that, but I do believe that the world would be a much better place if we could have empathy for one another.”
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