This week, as part of our series on the people and places in Florida’s redrawn Ninth Congressional District, we’ve been talking to voters about what they’re looking for in their next congressional representative.
To conclude this series, we reached out to the candidates running for this seat to talk about what we heard from the public, from affordability to faith, the LGBTQ community, environmental conservation, invasive mealybugs, overdevelopment and bipartisanship.
Democrat Darren Soto is running for his sixth term representing the Ninth Congressional District. He spoke to Central Florida Public Media’s Elections Reporter, Sam Stockbridge, about what he’s heard on the campaign trail, and how this new map has changed his relationship to this district.
We reached out to Dan Green, the Republican nominee vying for the seat, numerous times via phone, email and at campaign events requesting an interview. We did not hear back.
What Soto’s hearing on the road
Sam: I would imagine you've been touring the district a lot. What have you been hearing from people in the new district boundaries about what is animating them?
Soto: The new Florida 9th, which was drawn in a gerrymandered map, is really now three districts. You have [the] traditional Central Florida area, Orange, Osceola, parts of Polk County that [are] part of the current 9th District. And then we pick up new areas in the Heartlands, like Glades County, Highlands, Okeechobee, and also the coast, Indian River County. And so, I've been knee-deep in cattle ranches and citrus groves and the Indian River Lagoon, meeting with our Seminole Tribe, going to Labor Day parades in Okeechobee, I tried the frog legs over in Fellsmere, a beautiful rural community over in Indian River.
First, costs are a big issue for everyone. So, a lot of folks are frustrated by the tariffs, by the war, and by mass deportations raising costs across the board.
Healthcare's a big one, especially in Central Florida, with all these folks that have lost their Obamacare, or they've lost Medicaid.
And then corruption. People are upset by this war profiteering, by billionaire ballrooms and pay-for-pardons. So, I'm hearing that throughout the district.
In the Heartland specifically, our cattle ranchers and citrus growers have faced a lot over the years. Since I used to represent half of Polk County for many years in the Congress — six to be exact — I'm very familiar with these issues. I've worked with these folks for a lot of years.
We have citrus greening. That's a big issue. We're finally turning the corner on that after years of working with our local citrus growers. This is an iconic crop for our state, one that we got to make sure to continue, and we're seeing that finally get some improvement.
Our cattle ranchers, they are suffering under a whole host of things, from rising diesel prices because of the war [in Iran], tariffs that have affected their farm equipment and exports. We saw this attempt by President Trump to import foreign beef that came at the worst time for them. It affected their prices as they were just going to the market with their calves.
And then we have … mealybugs, that affects the grass. So they're facing some big issues.
And then, in Indian River, the Indian River Lagoon has been a big challenge over the years. Back when we saw the manatees in an unusual mortality event, when many of them were dying, I got to work with the then Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, on getting a waiver for feeding manatees because of the issues that were going on there, but she also committed that we would get long-term solutions to help return the seagrass to the Indian River Lagoon.
So thanks to money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan, I've been able to work on getting a lot of funding to restore the lagoon. That's of course well before I ever knew it was going to be part of the district.
But those are a lot of the conversations across three distinct areas that we are getting to and saying hello to folks, and you know, it'll be a very close race. All the polling the last couple months has been tied, so you know, every vote's going to count.
Changing representation
SAM: What was your reaction to the mid-decade redistricting campaign here in Florida?
SOTO: As a lawyer licensed with the Florida Bar, it is my unequivocal legal opinion this was absolutely unconstitutional. They did it anyway, and a trial court just let them get away with it in the short term by not granting the injunction, and it's an affront to the voters who voted for [the] Fair Districts [amendments to the Florida Constitution in 2010]. It blatantly tries to dismantle four Democratic-leaning districts based upon party, which is a big no-no.
... But what's done is done, at least for right now. And so, if you can't beat them in the courthouse, you got to beat them in the ballot box. And I am doing everything in my power to make sure Central Florida continues to have some experienced members of our delegation, and I'm also pursuing key priorities that I've outlined in this interview in our new areas of the coast and in the heartland.
And I've been very pleased at the welcome I've gotten there, because a lot of them feel left behind, and that will be no longer, with locally focused leadership and this continued strategy of working on local projects that get federal funding to improve our quality of life. That is something that they will see marginal to big improvement over the years.
SAM: Are you concerned about what [the new map] means for representation for Central Florida? [District 9] under its previous boundaries was one of the few that were majority Hispanic in the state.
SOTO: No question, there was an attack on the Puerto Rican community, the Hispanic community. The district went from 50% to 34% Hispanic, and, you know, the best way we could fight that is [to] make sure we still have diverse representation.
And, in addition, they carved up Central Florida. Orange County is the second biggest sales tax county in the state. We are the second biggest economic engine in the state, in Central Florida, and yet we are carved up because we happen to be light blue.
But that die has been cast for this election, and we need to work together across all the current new areas of the district.
I live in Kissimmee, so I am a Central Floridian, and will continue to pursue a lot of these projects that help their quality of life over the years, like expanding I-4, like getting Terminal C for [Orlando International Airport], like expanding SunRail and Brightline to the airport and to Tampa, and working on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Big Toho's restoration, and Lake Conway. So there still will be many of our Central Florida priorities that we'll continue to pursue, should the good people of District Nine bring us back, in addition to the key job centers in places like Lake Nona, [University of Central Florida] Research Park, and NeoCity.
More farmers?
SAM: Are you feeling like you're ready to represent more of those farming communities [that got added to the new district]?
SOTO: Because of Osceola County and because of Polk being in the district, I've actually represented some farm communities and ranch communities for my whole tenure in the State House, State Senate, and the Congress. So this is definitely more, but these are areas I'm deeply familiar with.
I first started working on citrus greening when I was a state senator, having large parts of Polk County already and knowing that's one of their big crops there. And that also applies to Highlands County, where that's one of their main commodities there.
And then I have a lot of experience working with our cattlemen. One of the big things we're worried about now is screwworm. It hasn't hit our state, thankfully. We've seen [the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services] do a good job to help block that. ...
So there are some challenges. But what I've learned is, yeah, it's tough to be a farmer. It's tough to be a citrus grower. It's tough to grow fruits and vegetables over in Glades County, in the Everglades Agricultural Area, or to be a rancher. And without food, it's that unique industry that without food, our nation's nothing. So we literally cannot fail, because our farmers, ranchers, and growers do so much hard work and have so many challenges.
The federal government is a critical partner in making sure that they can stay in business and help feed America. And so that's why I crossed the aisle to vote for the [2026 federal] Farm Bill to help them. It's not perfect. There's other things we have to do. And I'm hopeful to get a bipartisan solution. But in an effort to have their backs, that was a big vote this year.
SAM: How would you offer support to farmers who have seen their yields impacted by some of these pests and these issues that have been threatening farms?
SOTO: There's two specific pests that are hurting the cattle and citrus industries, and there's a threat of another.
So you have mealy bug, which is affecting the grass for cattle. Honestly, some of the rain coming in has been a big help to that. But also through the Farm Bill, making sure that we have the right pesticides to help curb these is a big part of it, too. But rain will be a help. But that has affected this year's weight of the cattle, along with the president trying to import foreign beef right at the time that our Florida cattlemen were going to market. That really hurt them big time.
And then, you have citrus greening, which has been around a while, unfortunately, and has decimated the citrus industry. But with programs like the new injections we have for the trees that have made them more resilient, to the [Citrus Research and Field Trial] program, which encourages through tax incentives to replant trees, I think we're going to see over the course of these next couple of years a slow increase in the yields again. So, that's something where we're finally getting some good news after a tough slog of over 10 years dealing with the citrus greening, which is a small psyllid from East Asia, Southeast Asia.
And then you have screwworm, which, thankfully, is not in Florida, but has been in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. That's a flesh-eating parasite. So, if that gets to Florida, that could hurt us big time.
And so, I have been working with [the U.S. Department of Agriculture] and FDACS and our [state] Ag[ricultural] Commissioner Wilton Simpson and others on making sure they have the funding, and helped lead a letter on that to to make sure that we're not importing livestock that may carry the screwworm.
And then, of course, we had a freeze. That was another big thing beyond pests. We had 3 days under freezing level in January. We had to get [U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to release] disaster relief for the state because a lot of our fruits and vegetables were hurt pretty bad by that, especially blueberries and strawberries.
And the Farm Bill helps with a lot of these things. That's where a lot of the support is. Sometimes it's disaster relief, which we helped lead the charge for earlier this year for the freeze that happened. But there's a whole myriad of things that they're facing right now that end up in the Farm Bill, which is why we need to get one actually passed out of the Congress, hopefully, this year.
Affordability
SAM: What are some bills that either you have supported to help make things more affordable or keep them affordable here in Central Florida? And what are some things that you'd be willing to support if you were re-elected? What are some opportunities you see?
SOTO: I've supported a lot of things, but only two things have really been moving.
We had a housing bill that passed into law [the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act] that makes it a little easier to build affordable housing and has prohibitions on hedge funds buying up single-family homes and helps boost the [federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s] HOME program, which is used to buy affordable housing land in Central Florida and other areas.
And I've supported the [federal Affordable Care Act] subsidies extension bill that went out of the House with all Democrats and a few Republicans supporting it, using a legislative maneuver called a discharge petition.
But the rest, a lot of it's up for this election to be handled next Congress, because we have a Congress that's a rubber stamp for the president right now.
The main drivers of costs right now [are] the tariffs, the war in Iran, and the mass deportations. And next Congress will play a big role in trying to bring the war into a close. … And so that's a huge issue.
And then we've seen a lot of our local employees be deported, lose their [federal Temporary Protected Status designation]. Nearly a million immigrants lost their TPS from the Cuban, Venezuelan, and Haitian communities, so a lot of services and goods, and food that they help pick, or that they work in restaurants, or in hotels and other areas — those prices are going to go up, because we have less workers who are participating in our economy. So, those are all driving up costs. We have to address those underlying pressures with costs.
We have to reinstitute the ACA subsidies, and stop the Medicaid cuts that have happened, and the [Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program] cuts next term.
And things that we'll be able to address the most [are] anything that's [related to] money and in the budget, or oversight. We'll pass a bunch of bills, as best we can, to address costs, but a lot of them will be through the budget, assuming that we have a divided government still, and, you know, the president will be there for another 2 years at least.
So, through the budget, we will do what we can to address the affordability of healthcare through lessening the Medicaid cuts and restoring the ACA cuts, which will affect overall healthcare rates, because we had 150,000 constituents lose their healthcare because we have the second-most Obamacare of any district in the nation, in Florida's 9th, and so that's a big issue. And so all those are affecting costs.
And then corruption is a huge issue, right? We've seen billionaire ballrooms and pay-for-pardon schemes, we've seen war profiteering. When you have crony capitalism, that's not the efficient way to do things, and that raises costs, too, through poor decisions being made based upon connections rather than merit.
And so some of these things we were able to move already, but a lot of them will be left to next term, because this Congress under the current Republican majority has not been interested in pushing back on any of these main issues that are driving up costs for Central Florida, for the coast, and for the heartland.
Faith
SAM: On a slightly different topic, also based on my conversations with constituents: I heard from more than a couple of people who feel like it's important to them that their elected representative is somebody for whom faith plays a central role. And I was curious what role, if any, faith plays in your governance and the policies that you make decisions on.
SOTO: Well, I'm a practicing Catholic. I just got married in the Catholic Church earlier this year. And I routinely worship at either Corpus Christi in Celebration, where my mom goes, or to Holy Cross, which is where my wife, Sheyla [Asencios], likes to go, and and even St. Catherine of Siena in [Buenaventura Lakes], I've gone to a couple times.
So faith definitely plays a role. And I literally pray every day for wisdom, because they're complex decisions we have to make every day.
And at the same time, I recognize and am proud of the fact that every major religion is practiced in Florida's 9th Congressional District. We have Jewish temples, we have mosques, we have Hindu temples, we have a Buddhist temple, we have a Daoist temple. We have Mormons, we have every sort of Christianity you could imagine, right?
And so I do think faith drives me, but it also teaches me to be welcoming of many other faiths and to be proud of our diverse community. And at a time when we need to be better at feeding the poor, healing the sick, welcoming the stranger, I thought a lot about some of the teachings I learned growing up in the Catholic Church.
Growth
SAM: One thing that really stood out to me was a lot of voters concerned about the pace of growth in Central Florida. A lot of people are worried about feeling like they're not going to have a way to preserve the character or the feel of their neighborhood or community if they continue to grow. What are some policies you would support that could offer some support for people who are worried about that?
SOTO: Well, a lot of these things are local. I have been a longtime advocate for our urban growth boundary, both in East Orange County and in South Osceola County. ...
The people want to make sure that we have reasonable growth management in Osceola County. We've protected 60% of the county from development. So the only things you can do in East Orange County and in South Osceola are really important things like farming, hunting leases, conservation. It's important for recreation, for food production, for water, for species. …
But at the end of the day, that still remains a local decision, right? The Orange County Commission gets to decide the urban growth boundary, [and] the Osceola County Commission. I have been having conversations with folks in Indian River and in Highlands, in particular, about their urban growth boundaries and how they'd like to grow, and certainly that's something that I keep in mind.
…Under Biden and, a few Congresses ago, under Democratic leadership, we passed the bipartisan infrastructure law. … And that's what we need to do again. We need another infrastructure law to help with some of the growth in Central Florida in our roads. And I'll be looking at new expansions. We first have to get the SunRail connected to the airport and then to the theme parks, but there's other efforts to expand it out into Polk County and do a Narcoossee Lake Nona St. Cloud line as well. That would help with some of the growth by concentrating it at the SunRail stops, and also alleviate some of the traffic in areas like Narcoossee that have become a struggle.
Those are local issues, but there is federal funding we can bring down to help. You just got to be real focused on it. And that's what I've done over the last couple of years.
LGBT issues
SAM: Among some folks I talked to in the Kissimmee area, there's some concern about loss of support for the LGBTQ community here in Florida and I guess nationally as well. … Is that something that you want to support, and yeah, I'll leave it there. Sure.
SOTO: I was proud to vote for the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified marriage equality just a few years ago [in 2022]. That added a statutory protection to marriage equality for the LGBTQ community, so that if the Supreme Court ever changed their opinion on that, that they would have protections under law.
And look, we're a community that got hit hard by the Pulse nightclub shooting, and I sponsored the National Pulse Memorial [bill in Congress], out of respect for a cross-section of our community, … specifically a lot of LGBTQ Hispanic folks and and Black Caribbean folks. And I'd like to think a lot of our community learned from that event to be accepting of people.
And of course we earlier this year saw the president try to decimate PrEP and [the federal] Ryan White [HIV/AIDS program’s] funding, and that hurt folks with HIV and AIDS, and while that's across the population, it hits the LGBTQ community the hardest. And we pushed back [in Congress] and helped get that funding, along with state legislators, to our clinics so that we wouldn't have a public health issue on our hands.
So those are just a few issues we've worked on lately, but we need to continue to respect marriage equality.
BIPARTISANSHIP
SAM: Another thing that I heard from folks [in the district] was people exhausted by polarizing campaigning. I'm curious what you would do to support policies that maybe have some bipartisan backing, or policies that you feel could help bring down the temperature in Washington, make things a little bit more amicable in the Capitol.
SOTO: Well, first, I go to Washington to help deliver for our community, and I'm looking to get things done. That's always been my focus, which is why we've had such success in bringing back all this federal money. You have to concentrate for years on letters of support and working with different administrations and making the case for the need for your community, you have to pass major legislation so there's even resources available, and then you need to make sure when the money comes that it actually gets built.
And so, a lot of these major projects, they were bipartisan. I led them, but I had the help of folks across the aisle, like [District 11 Republican] Congressman Daniel Webster as an example, for the Orlando International Airport, Terminal C, we worked on the efforts to expand SunRail and Brightline. ... So you have to work with colleagues across the aisle. Disaster relief is very bipartisan. The budget generally tends to be fairly bipartisan, and then look, we're going to need bipartisan support to help fix the healthcare cuts to ACA and Medicaid, so I'll be doing my best to work with folks across the aisle.
We did see some Republicans join us in that vote [on the ACA subsidies extension] that we got out of the House through discharge petition, which allows, if you get 218 people to sign a petition, a bill can pass even if the speaker doesn't want it to. So that's how we got that out of the House. But it does show there's some Republicans who are supportive of that.
And look, we need to have bipartisan support to bring the war in for a close. The tariffs are are hurting a lot of communities, right? And look, mass deportations are hurting a lot of communities. The president promised only to deport criminals. He's gone way beyond that. So I'm hopeful in some of these things we'll see support.
And of course, for Ag, there's always a decent amount of bipartisan support. That freeze letter that I told you about was bipartisan. Space is another one we work on.
When I run for office, I will always draw contrasts based upon policy. My main strategy has always been to show how I am working to improve the quality of life for our constituents and what I plan to do to continue to do that based upon the needs of our community, and that always needs to be the main dialogue in every election.
Stakes
SAM: Your seat is one of a dozen that Democrats have put money into to try to retake control of Congress in the midterm elections. … Talk about the significance of this 9th Congressional District seat for the party in national politics.
SOTO: This will be a very expensive race. It could end up being $4-5 million just on our campaign alone. And we are working our tails off for both small dollar and major contributions. We've had the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee invest about a million dollars so far. They know this is a close race. Every poll so far has showed it to be a dead heat, the most recent one being 41-41 tie.
And so, as someone who has represented this area for years and delivered, we have a lot of support across the aisle, right? Whether it's Democrats or independents or moderate Republicans. And so we know this is one of the seats that will decide who's in the majority next year.
And look, whether you're across the political spectrum, having balance back in Washington is going to help with the biggest issue, which is costs, which is something that is affecting everybody. We talked quite at length about the issues we would pursue to help drive down costs.
Yes, we have folks coming in to help. There's no doubt it's going to be a very close race, and so I'm willing to give it my all every day until [the] election. And whether it's working in Washington or whether it's on the campaign trail, I'm excited to see folks out there.
About this project
Dispatches from the Ninth Congressional District is a four-part series exploring what potential voters throughout the newly redrawn and expanded area are looking for in the next person they elect to represent them in Congress. The district was redrawn to include more white Republican voters after President Trump urged red states to redistrict to try and hang onto power as midterm elections approached.
