With the close of polls on Tuesday, Democratic Congressman Darren Soto held a razor-thin advantage in his reelection challenge from Republican Dan Green.
This spring, Republicans redrew Soto's district — Florida’s 9th — to benefit the G-O-P-. The previous district included Osceola and south Orange County, and was majority Hispanic. Now, it’s three times as big, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats by about 6%, according to Soto’s own estimates.
On Election Night, Soto had mostly nullified that advantage, earning a 0.6% advantage against Green with 99% of all votes counted. That’s a difference of 1,477 votes.
At his watch party at Big John’s Rockin’ BBQ in Kissimmee, Soto said the close result was a rebuke of the new map.
“What this means is that these districts aren't decided in Tallahassee. They're not decided in Washington. They're decided in Central Florida, the heartland, and the coast,” Soto said.
He said the campaign was hard-fought. The district’s new boundaries — which Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t reveal until April — stretch from Lake Nona south to Lake Okeechobee, sprawling across an area the size of Connecticut covering seven counties. Soto visited each of those counties numerous times on the campaign trail this year.
“We ran a strong campaign talking about what people care about: lowering costs, stopping corruption, protecting our health care,” Soto said. “And the voters responded — but it's very close.”
The Associated Press labeled the race "too close to call" on election night. Under Florida law, a recount will automatically be triggered if the margin separating the candidates dips below 0.5%. If that happens, election officials will have five days to complete the recount — unless one of the candidates concedes first.
While the race has yet to be called, Soto joins other incumbent Democrats in Florida who over performed this General Election, fueled by a surge of support for Democratic candidates this year.
