Scott Harris, News 13 Political Reporter
It was an election that seemed to last forever.
The race for the White House seemed to focus on Florida, with a record number of campaign stops.
Republican nominee John McCain made the most appearances, with 78 visits to Florida this year. President-elect Barack Obama only had 44 campaign stops in the Sunshine State.
Looking at the money raised, McCain only managed to get over $318,000 from Florida donors, in comparison to the $2.5 million the Obama campaign raised from voters across the state.
Obama went on to win the state of Florida and the presidency.
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While the election of America's first African-American president was an historic moment around the world, history was also made here at home.
Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary decided not to seek re-election after 16 years in office, which set up a race to watch between former Orlando police Chief Jerry Demings and former Edgewood police Chief John Tegg.
In the end, voters in elected Demings, the county's first African-American sheriff.
"If you are doing crime in Orange County, look forward to dealing with Jerry Demings and the Orange County [Sheriff's Office]," Demings said after his victory.
Some big changes are happening in Washington because of Central Florida voters.
Republican Rep. Tom Feeney, from Oviedo, lost his re-election bid to Democrat Suzanne Kosmas. Feeney had held the House District 24 seat since it was created, drawn by the state legislature when Feeney was Speaker of the House, and drawn as a heavily Republican in voter registration.
There was another big battle in U.S. House District 8. Republican incumbent Ric Keller lost a heated fight to Democrat lawyer Alan Grayson.
If you thought this election year was tough, it actually could just be the beginning.
On election night, Lew Oliver, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, promised that "significant names" would step forward to reclaim Keller's seat for the GOP in 2010, and do not expect that to happen quietly.