Former state Rep. John Cortes will face entrepreneur Jackie Espinosa in a November runoff for Kissimmee mayor after a Friday recount confirmed he defeated businesswoman Olga Cariño in Tuesday’s election.

The recount brought to an end a contentious race between Espinosa and Cariño filled with accusations of harassment and fraud.

“I’ve been in a lot of elections,” Cortes said after the recount. “This one just really disappointed me this year. Hardly anybody voted.”

Espinosa won on Election Day with just under 30% of the vote. Since none of the four candidates got above 50%, the race goes to a November runoff between her and the second-place finisher. Cortes narrowly came in second Tuesday night — four votes ahead of Cariño — a margin triggering a machine recount under state law.

The recount began around 10 a.m. Friday and was followed by a manual recount which lasted until about 2:15 p.m. — with Cortes and Cariño present in the room. Cortes said the final count saw him win by six votes while Cariño’s tally was unchanged.

Osceola Supervisor of Elections spokeswoman Kari Ewalt said a machine mistakenly believed a ballot was an undervote — when a voter doesn’t properly designate any choice — but the canvassing board determined the voter’s intent was to support Cortes.

The election was marked by allegations between Espinosa and Cariño. It started when Cariño alleged Espinosa’s campaign threatened to release personal and financial history. After that, Espinosa sued Cariño for harassing her campaign staff. Both resulted in criminal complaints to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. After City Commission staff began investigating if Cariño lived in a home she owned outside the city instead of one she rented in the city, Espinosa filed another complaint with FDLE alleging the lease agreement for the home where she claimed to live was fraudulent.

After the recount, Espinosa and Cariño had markedly different perspectives on the outcome.

“I’m just glad that people saw who would represent them best and the numbers speak for themselves,” Espinosa said. “I wish Ms. Cariño a lot of luck and success in whatever her endeavors are, but I’m just glad it’s behind us.”

But Cariño was critical of Espinosa.

“To lead a position like this one, we need to have a good heart with great intentions, and this is not the case,” she said.

“I pray to God that people open their eyes and see the reality of making the right choice.

Both Cariño and Cortes expressed frustration with turnout, which was about 17%, and by the nearly 300 mail-in ballots they say were thrown out as incomplete. Cortes said he hopes more people will participate in the runoff and he’ll work to get out the vote.

Cortes, who represented the Kissimmee area in the Florida House from 2014 to 2020, said he’s the most experienced candidate and knows how to work with the Legislature. One of his main goals is to revitalize downtown along with helping the homeless and improving infrastructure.

Espinosa, who owns multiple businesses downtown, said she’s the most community-involved candidate and wants to help small businesses, first responders and senior citizens.