ORLANDO, Fla. — Shaniqua "Shan" Rose won the District 5 runoff election and will take over as interim commissioner. 

Rose received 1,025 votes, while her opponent, Travaris McCurdy, only received 856 votes. 

Tuesday was the last day for voters to decided on which candidate they want to fill the vacant District 5 seat after former commissioner Regina Hill was suspended in April. 

What You Need To Know

  • Candidate Shan Rose wins the race for District 5 with 1,025 votes

  • The election comes after former Commissioner Regina Hill was suspended in April 2024

  • Rose says her priorities for District 5 are safety, economic development and equitable business opportunity

The runoff election came after none of the seven candidates vying in last month's special election received the required 50% of votes. 

Since none of them reached that threshold, Rose and McCurdy — the two with the most votes — went head-to-head in the runoff election.

Rose, a former city hall employee, had the most votes in the special election, securing about 25% of the votes. Former state representative McCurdy had the second highest number of votes.

Both candidates argued that their government experience and their involvement in District 5 are just a few of the things that make them a viable candidate.

According to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office, 1,205 voters came out to cast their ballot during the early voting period, which wrapped up Sunday. A majority of the early votes were by mail.

That is nearly 6% of the voter turnout so far. Those numbers were also fairly low for the election back in May.

Rose will serve until Regina’s criminal case is resolved or until the end of the term next year.