ORLANDO, Fla. — The race for state attorney on the Ninth Judicial Circuit will likely be decided Tuesday as incumbent State Attorney Andrew Bain and former State Attorney Monique Worrell vie for that seat.

What You Need To Know

  •  Former State Attorney Monique Worrell and current State Attorney Andrew Bain are running for the post in the election

  •  Worrell was removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, and he put Bain in the job

  •  Election Day comes on the heels of a deadly shooting on Halloween night in downtown Orlando

Worrell was removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year.

Both candidates say their goal is to reduce violent crime in Orange and Osceola counties.

Worrell pointed to her violent crime task force that focused on pursuing the most violent offenders in the community. She said if she gets the seat back, her goal is to reduce mass incarceration.

Bain said his focus will continue to be on juveniles, addressing what he says is the root causes of crime.

Earlier this year, he created a violent crimes unit and a literacy program for juveniles entangled in the criminal justice system called Turning Pages.

Election Day comes on the heels of a deadly shooting on Halloween night in downtown Orlando.

On Monday, Bain announced that 17-year-old suspect Jaylen Dwayne Edgar will be tried as an adult in connection with the shooting. Two people died and eight others were injured in the shooting.

Overall, Orlando police officials have said recently that Florida’s permitless carry law played a role in certain security measures downtown.

Both Worrell and Bain offered their perspectives on that law.

“We need to repeal permitless carry, and my opponent will not say that because he cannot go against his boss, Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party, although he claims to be a nonpartisan politician,” Worrell said.

Bain countered.

“Even though many in law enforcement, like myself, disagreed with the change in the concealed weapons law, it is still illegal for a 17-year-old to possess a handgun. The law still prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from possessing a concealed firearm,” Bain said.

On Monday, Bain said the shooting on Halloween highlights a broader issue: keeping guns and access to them out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, especially youths. He said it shouldn’t be just a law enforcement issue, but a community effort to end the cone of silence that protects those who pose a threat.

“I think that it does play a factor,” Bain said. “Any time that we lose a tool to hold people that shouldn't have firearms accountable, it's going to be able to cause some ripple effects, and so we need to understand this is where we are right now.”

Worrell said if voters elect her as state attorney, her focus will continue to be on reducing violent crime and mass incarceration.

She said the 17-year-old shooter was not prosecuted by her administration but by Bain’s. But she maintains the state attorney cannot be responsible for gun violence in their communities.

“As your state attorney, I worked diligently to put together policies that would keep us safe. Was it 100% successful? It wasn’t, because being the state attorney isn’t the end all, to be all,” Worrell said. “The lawmakers have to be willing to collaborate to ensure that those policies have teeth.”