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Marco Lopez
Marco Lopez made history Tuesday night by becoming the first Hispanic candidate to win the race for Osceola County Sheriff.
Lopez, a Democrat, captured about 67.2 percent of the vote against his no-party-affiliation challenger, Luis “Tony” Fernandez.
The former Osceola County deputy spent about 16 years with the Sheriff’s Office and previously served in the U.S. Navy for over 20 years. He now works as a security consultant at Lo-Jeng Tech.
This Lopez’s second run for sheriff, after an unsuccessful attempt in 2016.
The candidate was fired from the Osceola Sheriff’s Office in May 2019 after announcing plans to run against his then-boss, Sheriff Russ Gibson.
Lopez won by a slim margin against his two Democrat challengers during the August primary, beating Gibson by 615 votes. His third opponent, Mike Fisher, finished third.
His win came as a surprise to many — including Lopez himself.
“I fell back. I almost passed out,” Lopez told the News-Gazette the day after his August primary win.
Since then, Lopez’s campaign has gained momentum, picking up more than $40,000 in additional donations, mostly from residents, small businesses and fellow law enforcement officers.
He also received key endorsements from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and the Orlando Sentinel.
Lopez campaigned on promises to improve community policing and law enforcement outreach with residents.
He supports increasing recruitment of Hispanic officers in Osceola — a growing county where 55 percent of residents are Latino.
His other initiatives include strengthening cyber security efforts and policing technology at the Sheriff’s Office.
Lopez was unavailable for comment by the time of publication.
