With several contentious races on the ballot for Orange County voters this year, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, the region’s most high-profile Democrat, appears to be throwing financial support behind two Republicans gunning for local office, including a challenger to an incumbent Democrat. Earlier this year, Dyer publicly came out in support of developer Steve Leary, a Republican and former Winter Park mayor who’s vying for the open District 5 seat on the Orange County Commission that will soon be vacated by term-limited Commissioner Emily Bonilla. Facing off against Leary for the seat is Dr. Kelly Semrad, a hospitality and tourism studies professor at the University of Central Florida, an environmental activist and a Democrat.