OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – After losing his re-election bid in 2020, former Osceola County sheriff Russ Gibson wants his old job back.
His announcement sets up a likely rematch against current Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez, who defeated Gibson by just 615 votes in 2020.
Gibson sat down with anchor Justin Warmoth on “The Weekly” to discuss his 2024 run and why he believes he’s the better option to lead the sheriff’s office.
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“I’m not done serving the people yet,” Gibson said. “From my observations of what I see happening within the sheriff’s office itself, I believe we can do better. I’m not going to be a person who sits on the sidelines and complains and does nothing to make it better.”
Lopez, a former Osceola County deputy when Gibson was sheriff, posted a statement on Facebook following Gibson’s announcement. It said, in part, “Two years ago I was elected as your sheriff after being fired and told I had no constitutional rights to run for sheriff. I won the race and came back to fire his [expletive!]”
“It’s completely unprofessional,” Gibson said of the post. “He had a resignation letter prepared for him. If he signed that, he would’ve left in good standing. And had I won the election, he would’ve come back to the sheriff’s office like he had never left. He didn’t take that and told me I would have to fire him.”
“I told him he had every right to run for sheriff,” Gibson continued. “But you can’t run for sheriff against me while you work for me, and I occupy the seat.”
Watch the full interview in the video player above.
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