Kissimmee business owner Jackie Espinosa now knows who will face her in the race for Kissimmee Mayor after a recount process which began around 10 a.m. on Friday and included both machine and manual recounts, confirmed John Cortes as the second-place finisher, edging out third-place finisher Olga Cariño by just six votes.
The final vote tally showed Jackie Espinosa leading with 1,446 votes, followed by Cortes with 1,228, Cariño with 1,222, and Olga Castano with 943.
Osceola County Supervisor of Elections spokeswoman Kari Ewalt explained that a machine had mistakenly flagged a ballot as an undervote, but the canvassing board determined the voter’s intent was to support Cortes.
The turnout for the election was around 17%, with nearly 300 mail-in ballots rejected as incomplete.
Espinosa, who owns multiple businesses in downtown Kissimmee, has highlighted her involvement in the community and her commitment to supporting small businesses, first responders, and senior citizens.
Cortes, who represented the Kissimmee area in the Florida House from 2014 to 2020, emphasized his experience says he plans to revitalize downtown, help the homeless, and improve infrastructure.
The runoff is necessary because no candidate secured 50% of the vote.
