Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has suspended his campaign for governor of Florida following a cancer diagnosis.
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Demings, 66, made the announcement Friday after he said he was diagnosed with a treatable form of prostate cancer earlier this week.
“Running for governor has been one of the biggest honors of my life,” Demings said in a statement. “Up until my diagnosis, our campaign was continuing to add staff and grow our reach throughout the state. Our polling showed a strong chance of victory, and I had been looking forward to articulating my vision for our state on the trail through the primary and into November.”
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Demings, a Democrat, has been Orange County’s mayor since 2018 and is married to fellow Democrat Val Demings, a former U.S. representative who unsuccessfully ran against Marco Rubio in the 2022 Senate race.
“I came to this conclusion to suspend my candidacy in the interest of my family and my health. Continuing to run for governor would have likely led to injurious effects on my prognosis. I am a fighter through and through, and now is the time to fight cancer and be there for my loved ones,” his statement read.
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