Val Demings
Val Demings | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 10th district | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel Webster |
| Succeeded by | Maxwell Frost |
| Chief of the Orlando Police Department | |
| In office December 16, 2007 – June 1, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Michael McCoy |
| Succeeded by | Paul Rooney |
| First Lady of Orange County | |
| Assumed role December 4, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Jacobs (First Gentleman) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Valdez Venita Butler March 12, 1957 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Florida State University (BS) Webster University Orlando (MPA) |
| Police career | |
| Department | Orlando Police Department |
| Service years | 1983–2011 |
| Rank | Chief |
Valdez Venita Demings (née Butler; born March 12, 1957) is an American politician and former police officer who served as U.S. representative for Florida's 10th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. The district covered most of the western half of Orlando and includes much of the area around Orlando's resort parks. It includes many of Orlando's western suburbs, including Apopka and Winter Garden. From 2007 to 2011, Demings served as the first female chief of the Orlando Police Department, closing a 27-year career in law enforcement. She has also been first lady of Orange County, Florida, since December 4, 2018, when her husband Jerry Demings was sworn in as County Mayor.
Demings won the Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. Representative from Florida's 10th congressional district in 2012. After losing to Republican incumbent Daniel Webster, she won in 2016 after the State Supreme Court mandated redistricting statewide.
On January 15, 2020, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi selected Demings to serve as a House impeachment manager in the first Senate trial of President Donald Trump. In early August 2020, Demings was said to be one of the top contenders to be Joe Biden's vice-presidential running mate in the 2020 United States presidential election, along with Kamala Harris and Susan Rice. Instead of running for re-election in the House, she became the Democratic nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Florida, wherein she lost to Republican incumbent Marco Rubio in a landslide.
In July 2024, President Joe Biden nominated Demings to serve as a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service.