U.S. House, District 9
Represents Florida's 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives; votes on federal laws and spending. Term: 2 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
FOX 35, Florida Politics and CBS News (Aug 18-20, 2026) report Dan Green (R) won the Republican primary (AP call Aug 20) and faces incumbent Darren Soto (D), who was unopposed in the Democratic primary ; ; . County list is from 2026 reporting on the redrawn district (FOX 35). NPA/write-in candidates not confirmed. Florida's Legislature passed a new congressional map in the April 2026 special session (Senate vote 21-17 on April 29, 2026) and the Florida Supreme Court on June 10, 2026 declined (6-1) to block it, so the new district lines apply to the Nov. 3, 2026 election; litigation on the merits continues. ; ; County list reflects pre-2026 district boundaries unless a 2026 source is cited; boundaries changed under the April 2026 map and the exact new county composition was not confirmed in searches run for this guide.
Debates and forums
- Not scheduled · WESH 2 invited the candidates to a debate; Republican Dan Green recently declined the invitation (reported Oct. 14). No debate.
Darren Soto (D), Dan Green (R)
Candidates
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Darren Soto
Darren Soto, an attorney, served in the Florida House and Senate before winning the 9th District seat in 2016; he has represented it since 2017 and was unopposed in the Aug. 18, 2026 Democratic primary. The April 2026 map redrew his district, which had been a Hispanic-majority seat protected under the Voting Rights Ac…
Dan Green
Dan Green, 50, of Vero Beach, grew up in Indian River County, attended American University, Florida State University and George Washington University, and worked at the U.S. Departments of Defense and State from 2001 to 2009. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development from 20…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Darren Soto Democratic | Dan Green Republican |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans disagree· based on record Soto voted against H.R. 1 (the 2025 reconciliation law), which paired extended tax cuts with reductions in projected Medicaid and SNAP spending. All House Democrats voted no. | Strongly agrees· stated position Disagrees that people who can afford more should pay more; says government should cut spending rather than raise taxes. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | No public position found |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Soto voted against the Laken Riley Act in January 2025 and explained his opposition in an interview with the Florida Phoenix; the Republican Party of Florida ran ads criticizing the vote. | Leans agree· stated position Would admit those who follow legal immigration methods and opposes sanctuary cities. |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly agrees· stated position With the Florida Democratic delegation, Soto called the state's six-week ban 'draconian' and 'a blow to Floridians' reproductive freedom,' saying the decision to seek an abortion should remain private and not be put in the hands of politicians. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Strongly agrees human life should be protected from conception; would allow abortion only for rape, incest and the life of the mother. |
| GunsGun laws should be stricter (keep the red-flag law and the age-21 purchase rule; expand background checks) rather than looser (permitless or open carry, lower purchase age). | Strongly agrees· stated position His campaign site has a gun-safety-reform page and he has said he is 'committed to remaining in the fight for common sense gun safety reforms' while respecting Second Amendment rights; he has discussed state and federal gun-safety measures at town halls. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Says there are too many gun restrictions. |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Strongly agrees· based on record Soto voted against H.R. 1 and, during committee consideration, displayed photos of children on Medicaid, saying half the children in his district are on Medicaid or KidCare and that the bill's Medicaid reductions would affect them. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Says taxpayer-funded health care should be abolished and private insurance should be the primary means of coverage. |
| Social Security & MedicareSocial Security and Medicare benefits must be protected from any cuts, even if that requires more revenue. | Leans agree· based on record Voted for the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), the 2024 law repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, raising benefits for some public-sector retirees. | No public position found |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted against the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), the 2025 bill requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Opposes voting without photo ID. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans disagree· based on record Voted against the Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act (H.R. 2096), the 2025 bill repealing parts of the District of Columbia police-accountability law; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward tougher policing. | No public position found |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | Leans disagree· based on record Voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 28), the 2025 bill barring transgender girls and women from female school sports under Title IX; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward keeping restrictions in place. | Leans agree· stated position In a Sept. 18, 2026 interview Green criticized Rep. Soto for voting against a measure requiring parental consent for minors' gender-transition medical procedures, describing the vote as undermining parental rights and parental consent. |
| Energy & utilitiesGovernment should promote renewable energy and tighten oversight of utility rate increases, even at the expense of fossil-fuel production. | Leans agree· based on record Voted against the Protecting American Energy Production Act (H.R. 26), the 2025 bill barring a presidential moratorium on hydraulic fracturing without an act of Congress; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward fossil-fuel production. | No public position found |
| Tariffs & tradeTariffs on imported goods are good for the American economy. | No public position found | No public position found |
| UkraineThe U.S. should continue military aid to Ukraine. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | Leans disagree· stated position His office's 2025 end-of-year report describes 'holding the Trump Administration accountable' as a priority, and he joined members seeking an inspector-general probe into the administration's delay of Puerto Rico disaster funds. | Strongly agrees· stated position Green, a Trump-era Pentagon appointee, says he will stand with President Trump's agenda on national security, fiscal restraint and constitutional limits on government, and has positioned his campaign as a conduit for the 'America First' agenda. |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
How the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree), Teacher and staff pay (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree), Library and classroom materials (agree), School safety approach (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Darren Soto | -1.25 (4 statements) | -1.57 (7 statements) |
| Dan Green | not enough data | 1.67 (6 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Darren Soto
- Puerto Rico recovery and drinking water — Maintains a Puerto Rico issue page and 'recovery blueprint'; in August 2026 led a letter urging the EPA to address a drinking-water emergency on the island.
- Children's Medicaid and KidCare — Says half of the children in his district rely on Medicaid or KidCare and has opposed federal Medicaid reductions.
- Impoundment of appropriated funds — Sought an inspector-general inquiry into whether delaying Puerto Rico disaster funds violated the Impoundment Control Act.
- First Spanish-language ad of the cycle — Soto announced a six-figure Spanish-language ad buy on Sept. 22 aimed at Hispanic voters in the redrawn district. The spot features a couple describing rising grocery, gas and health care costs, and says Soto wants to end the war in Iran so the country can focus on problems at home.
- Support from national Democrats — DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene was scheduled to fundraise with Soto on Sept. 25. Soto is in the DCCC's Frontline program for battleground incumbents.
- Ad campaign: bipartisan appeal and a Spanish-language radio spot — Soto put a high-six-figure buy behind a 30-second ad featuring a self-described conservative Vero Beach voter saying she is crossing party lines, and on Oct. 6 added a one-minute Spanish-language radio spot, 'El Mismo Patron,' with a six-figure buy, saying Dan Green would support legislation stripping health care, raising prices through tariffs and cutting taxes for the wealthiest.
- Rated the most vulnerable House Democrat — Roll Call placed Soto third on its list of the 10 most vulnerable House members, the highest-ranked Democrat, citing the new map that put him in a district President Trump carried with more than 58% in 2024.
- Campaign announcements and ads — The campaign announced it raised more than $1.6 million in the third quarter across its campaign account and Victory Fund, and launched a six-figure Spanish-language radio ad ('El Mismo Patrón') on grocery costs that criticizes Republican Dan Green.
Dan Green
- Property insurance costs — Says Florida homeowners are hurt by rising insurance rates and that he will 'take their fight to Washington'; no specific federal mechanism described.
- Overdevelopment — Pledges to find solutions to overdevelopment in Florida.
- Proof of citizenship to vote — Supports requiring proof of citizenship and ID for federal elections.
- National security and fiscal restraint — Cites his counterterrorism and Pentagon experience; says he supports fiscal restraint and constitutional limits on government.
- Comstock Act enforcement — Supports enforcing the Comstock Act's restrictions on mailing abortion-inducing drugs.
- Cost of living and size of government — Green says grocery, gas and property-insurance costs are too high and that government should 'get it out of our pockets'; he faulted Soto for voting against ending taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits.
- Television ad 'Courage' on his 9/11 service and priorities — Green released a 30-second ad noting he was working at the Pentagon as a civilian policy staffer when Flight 77 struck the building, and naming his priorities as 'getting prices down, protecting our communities from overdevelopment, and defending our nation.'