Miami
FLORIDA Darren Soto builds a fundraising lead over Dan Green in Florida’s 9th District race
The Democratic incumbent has raised more money and entered October with a larger cash edge than his Republican challenger. Even so, election forecasters still rate the seat as leaning toward the GOP under Florida’s new congressional map.
U.S. Rep. Darren Soto holds a sizable fundraising advantage over Republican challenger Dan Green in the race for Florida’s 9th Congressional District, according to federal campaign filings cited by Florida Politics.
From July 30 through Sept. 30, Green reported raising just under $889,000, but that total included a $700,000 candidate loan. He ended the quarter with $516,000 in cash on hand.
Soto brought in nearly $1.31 million over the same span. Florida Politics reported that, across all committees, the Democrat raised $1.6 million during the quarter without taking out loans, compared with $1.07 million for Green. Excluding Green’s self-funding, the Republican raised $368,000 over those three months.
Soto, a Kissimmee Democrat, is seeking a sixth term but is running on a new congressional map that, according to the outlet, places him in a district where more than 58% of voters backed Donald Trump in 2024. Soto started October with $1.34 million in the bank and no debt.
Despite the fundraising gap, major race handicappers still view Soto as being in a tough contest. Florida Politics said Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball continue to rate the district as likely Republican, while Fox News Power Rankings shifted somewhat in Soto’s direction but still placed the race in its Lean R column.
The outlet also noted that the only survey in The New York Times’ index came from Soto’s campaign in August, shortly after Green won the GOP primary. That poll showed the two candidates tied at 41% apiece.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
