Tom Keen wins Orlando City Council seat against better funded incumbent

Former Rep. Tom Keen pulled off the upset and knocked off a longtime incumbent with a bigger war chest in the Orlando City Council election Tuesday.

Keen won with nearly 54% of the vote in the race for District 1 to oust Commissioner Jim Gray who captured 31% of the vote, according to unofficial election results. The other two candidates in the race, Sunshine Linda-Marie Grund and Manny Acosta, received nearly 10% and 5% of the vote, respectively.

Keen could not be reached for comment immediately Tuesday night.

Rep. Anna Eskamani wrote on X, “Thrilled to congratulate our newest Orlando City Commissioner, Tom Keen, for District 1.”

The four-year City Commissioner term pays $79,343 annually.

District 1, covering Lake Nona, the Orlando International Airport, Visa Park and Sunbridge, was one of three contested races to reshape Orlando city government.

Some of the issues in front of the Orlando City Council include funding road improvement projects in busy corridors, modernizing Leu Gardens and adding a children’s garden, and building the Pulse Memorial.

Gray, who was first elected in 2012 and was the lone Republican serving on the Orlando City Council, picked up powerful endorsements of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, the Orlando Sentinel’s editorial board and the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association. Gray also raised the most money in the race, with a war chest of more than $127,000.

But in one of Florida’s bluest areas, Keen won endorsements from several Orlando Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost and Eskamani, who is running for Mayor in 2027. Eskamani sent out reminders for people to vote midday Tuesday.

Keen said he had been knocking on doors and saw the potential for an upset to beat an incumbent.

“I’ve always been the underdog, always underestimated,” Keen told Florida Politics earlier, saying the dynamics were similar to his surprise victory to flip House District 35 in a January 2024 Special Election.