It's Election Day in Central Florida with the biggest race for mayor of Orlando.

Incumbent Mayor Buddy Dyer has won re-election against opponents Sunshine Linda-Marie Grund and Paul Paulson.

Dyer won with 63 percent of the vote, blowing past the threshhold to avoid a runoff election. Dyer said it was the largest margin of victory he's had in his entire political career.



"The true strength of our city is our people," Dyer said. "We're not just another city, we're the best city in America. And we reiterated that today."

Incumbent Commissioners Patty Sheehan and Sam Ings also won re-election in their respective districts.





Dyer has been the city's mayor since he was elected in 2003 and has campaigned on the city’s growth, saying it’s in great financial shape. He says he wants to finish the initiatives he started, including one to reduce the homeless population in the city.

“There is definitely more to come," Dyer said. "We have great momentum in this city with a lot of different things going on. One of the things I have very passionate about is our homeless initiative. I think we are going to be able to end veteran homelessness by the end of this year.”

Paulson and Grund however took shots at the city’s tax hikes, saying it’s too much for citizens to afford.

Speaking to supporters Tuesday, Paulson said he believes his campaign message resonated with voters.

"And it’s been the people behind us that have wanted to cut taxes, that have cared about the city of Orlando, that have wanted to fight crime," Paulson said.

"We have certainly had an impact here today and we would hope that the next four years, everybody who has been voting for me would have an impact in the great city of Orlando," Paulson added.

However, Paulson still contends there’s a financial problem in city hall. Paulson campaigned on the idea that he was going to lower taxes and diversify Orlando’s job base.

His parting message for city leaders: focus more on working with Orange County to improve Orlando’s economic outlook.

"Consolidation with the county on several services and then annexation so we can bring tax base from the suburban areas into the city of Orlando, so that’s my message: prioritization, consolidation and annexation to improve the tax base of Orlando," Paulson explained.

Paulson wished Mayor Buddy Dyer well, but he hopes his campaign will have a lasting impact on Orlando's economic future.

Elections elsewhere in Central Florida

Other local elections happened in Lake, Brevard and Volusia counties.

In Volusia County, the mayoral race in Lake Helen is going to a recount. Buddy Snowden, the incumbent, got 389 votes. But challenger Ann Robbins got 388 votes.

Residents in Lake County voted to keep a one-cent sales tax for infrastructure. The referendum to extend the tax for another 15 years passed with 71 percent of the vote.

In Mascotte, Barbara Krull won election as mayor, beating Feliciano Felix Ramirex by just 5 votes. Pat Kelly was re-elected mayor in Minneola, beating David Yeager, 70 percent to 30 percent.

And in Mount Dora, Nick Girone was elected mayor.

In Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Bob Hoog was elected mayor with 53 percent of the vote.