Incumbent Andrew Bain (I) and former state attorney Monique Worrell (D) are running for Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney, which encompasses all of Orange County, Florida.

The election is taking place after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) removed Worrell from office in August 2023 and appointed Bain in her place. DeSantis suspended Worrell, claiming she failed to pursue minimum mandatory sentences for criminals and did not fully prosecute both adults and juveniles who later went on to commit other crimes. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the suspension after Worrell sued, alleging DeSantis did not have a legal basis for removing her from office. Worrell said, “This is simply a smokescreen for Ron DeSantis’ failing and disastrous presidential campaign. He needed to get back in the media in some positive way that would be red meat for his base.”

Bain received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 2006 and a J.D. from the Florida A&M University College of Law in 2013. Bain worked as a district attorney and assistant state attorney in the Ninth Judicial Circuit for seven years before being appointed as a judge in June 2020. Bain was re-elected as Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney in 2022.

On his campaign website, Bain says he will “fight for justice, for the victims, their families and for our neighborhoods. That is what I’m fighting for every day. No one is above the law, and the law should be applied without bias or prejudice.” Bain’s campaign website also says during his time in office, he has addressed a shortage of experienced prosecutors, implemented the violent crimes unit, handled cases for the violent offenders, reinstated minimum mandatory sentencing for violent offenders, developed community partnerships providing criminal justice solutions, launched diversion programs, and integrated on-site crisis counseling to victims.

On her campaign website, Worrell says she will prioritize public safety, diligently serve victims, reduce crime and incarceration, and work to improve public trust in the government. Worrell said, “I made a promise to fight crime at its root and to stop the school to prison pipeline that turns hope into despair and turns children into convicted criminals. We are in for a fight against a broken system and those who don’t want it to change. It’s a fight I’m confident we can win.”

The Florida ninth circuit state attorney is the chief prosecutor for Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit, which includes Orange County and its incorporated cities, including Orlando. According to the state attorney office’s website, the ninth circuit state attorney “serves the nearly 1.9 million residents of Orange and Osceola counties and many of the 70 million tourists who visit Central Florida every year. Our primary role is to represent the State of Florida in criminal court. Our responsibilities include reviewing criminal investigations, determining charges and prosecuting cases involving felony, misdemeanor, criminal traffic and juvenile delinquency. As the third-largest of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits, the Ninth Circuit State Attorney’s Office receives roughly 60,000 cases annually from law enforcement.”

A state attorney is an official elected to serve as the lead prosecutor for a specific jurisdiction. The office’s responsibilities include managing the jurisdiction’s prosecutors, setting department-wide guidelines for prosecutors to follow, and direct management of individual high-profile prosecutions. Prosecutors are responsible for deciding whether to bring criminal charges, prosecuting certain cases, and recommending a sentence in the event a defendant is found guilty. This office is equivalent to the positions of district attorney, state’s/commonwealth’s attorney, county/city attorney, solicitor, circuit attorney, or prosecuting attorney found in other jurisdictions.

Orange County is also holding elections for clerk of courts, comptroller, property appraiser, public defender, sheriff, state attorney, supervisor of elections, tax collector, county commission, soil and water conservation district, circuit court judges, and county court judges. Click here for more on those elections.