“I’ve never stopped working,” Buford-Johnson told VoxPopuli in a recent interview. 

Buford-Johnson’s 2024 campaign relied on a few friends who occasionally helped her but mostly she was on her own.

“That was my first time ever running for anything in my life, and I didn't have a team and I didn't have anybody supporting me really,” Buford-Johnson said.

Now Buford-Johnson said she is less naive and more experienced running for public office after her loss.

Her relaunched campaign relies on 15 active volunteers. She brought on a chief of staff with a background in community organizing and a researcher to help her with messaging. She focuses on shoe-leather canvassing. In April alone, Buford-Johnson said she spent about 17 days knocking on voters’ doors to hear their concerns and get her name out. She is dedicating more time to go out to the neighborhood associations’ events in the districts.

Weekends are nonstop. “I go from 9:00 in the morning until like 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening,” Buford-Johnson said. “And then we'll get back home and get ready to go to an event.”

And Buford-Johnson has picked up where she left off in 2024 with attacks against Antone. She accuses him of being absent and not fighting hard enough to improve the economic outlook for residents in House District 41, which includes Ocoee, Oak Ridge, Orlo Vista and Tangelo Park. She argues small businesses are hurting but Antone hasn’t done enough to help them, she said.

“We don’t see him until it’s almost time for an election,” Buford-Johnson told VoxPopuli recently. “The truth of the matter is do you want someone who's going to continue to do what he does or do you want change to really work for our people?”

Antone disputed his opponent’s claims and argued he is a visible lawmaker fighting for House District 41.

“I am always present in the community, when not in Tallahassee. I have a proven record of speaking for and fighting for the community that I represent,” he said in a text message to VoxPopuli. “My record in the community, my presence in the community, and my record of legislative accomplishments speaks for itself.”

As of press time, Antone had not yet filed for re-election although he said he intends to do so later in May.  

Beyond hammering Antone, Buford-Johnson is, for the first time as a candidate, talking publicly about her son who is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder. 

Cleveland Johnson was convicted of killing Laruntray Lampkin in a 2019 shooting outside an Orlando pool hall. Buford-Johnson said Cleveland, who was 30 at the time, was scared for his life and acted in self-defense when he shot Lampkin.

Her campaign website mentions her son’s conviction in her bio, something she did not share publicly during her 2024 run.

“I didn't talk about it at all. My son asked me not to even bring him up because he was afraid people would not like me because of what happened to him,” Buford-Johnson said. “I have nothing to hide. … I'm being as transparent and authentic as possible.”

Representing himself in a motion for post-conviction relief, Cleveland called his trial attorney ineffective. He said his defense did not question witnesses “and only objected one time during the entire trial.”

An Orange County Judge denied the motion last year, saying Cleveland's motion did not include enough supporting facts.

On her website, Buford-Johnson wrote that her son’s conviction and her fight for an appeal taught her that “justice is inaccessible without substantial money or political connections.”

Buford-Johnson said her son’s case has motivated her to advocate for criminal justice reform, if she's elected, to ensure defendants get fair representation and the state can better support offenders returning to society after serving their sentences.

Immigration is another key issue for Buford-Johnson who said she is concerned about the state’s treatment of undocumented immigrants. She said she favors closing Alligator Alcatraz, the controversial federal immigration detention center in the Everglades. 

“People are human beings. They should not be treated like they're cattle,” Buford-Johnson said.

Other priorities include public education. Buford-Johnson watched with alarm as Orange County Public Schools closed seven schools this year, including Orlo Vista Elementary, the school her children attended, as enrollment declines and more families opt in for private school vouchers. The school district’s troubles are partially linked to immigration since some immigrant families are scared to send their children to school, Buford-Johnson said.

To improve schools, Buford-Johnson calls for the state to invest more into public education and add more oversight into the voucher system that’s been plagued with abuse and mismanagement. 

Asked why she would make a good lawmaker, Buford-Johnson pointed to her career in guest services — prior to Circle K, she also managed guest services for Disney World — which required communication and listening. Skills, she said, that would serve her well in Tallahassee.