Democrats Grayson and Demings Announce Bids for Congress
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
By: Tom Parkinson

July 12, 2011 | WMFE - Two well known Central Florida Democrats say they will run for Congress in 2012. Former Congressman Alan Grayson will try to return to Washington while former Orlando Police Chief Val Demings is seeking political office for the first time.

Grayson has already filed his official paperwork to make another run for the U.S. House. He lost his seat to Republican Daniel Webster last year.
Grayson became well known nationally during his single term largely due to his provocative comments on the House floor regarding Republican plans for health care among other subjects.

Val Demings says she will announce her bid for Congress tomorrow afternoon at the Orange County Regional History Center.
She stepped down as Orlando police chief last month after 27 years with the department. She spent three years as the city’s first female and first African-American police chief.
She is married to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings who plans to run for re-election on the same ballot next November.

Grayson and Demings have not yet said which district they want to represent. Orlando has two Congressional seats, the 3rd, represented by Corrine Brown of Jacksonville and the 8th, Grayson’s former seat now held by Webster. But state lawmakers are currently drawing a new district map so the candidates might have the chance to run in a new Central Florida district.