ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida voters chose Democrat Darren Soto to represent Florida's 9th Congressional District.
Soto, the incumbent, beat Republican challenger Wayne Liebnitzky in the general election for the second time. He also beat Liebnitzky in the 2016 election, when he was first elected to the position.
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The district, which is comprised of all of Osceola and parts of Orange and Polk counties, was represented by Alan Grayson from 2013 through 2017.
Grayson chose not to seek re-election in 2016 in order to run for one of Florida's U.S. Senate seats, leaving the District 9 race to his wife, Dena. She lost to Soto by nearly 10 percent of the total primary vote. Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy beat Grayson in the primary for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination. Grayson decided this May he would run again for the Democratic nomination for the 9th District, but he was defeated in the August primary by Soto.
Before his election as 9th District representative in 2016, Soto served in the Florida House of Representatives for five years, then in the Florida Senate for four years.
[MORE: Darren Soto wins U.S. House District 9 race | Darren Soto wins U.S. House District 9 Democratic primary race]
News 6 political expert and University of Central Florida political science professor Jim Clark said that Soto, who is of Puerto Rican descent, had a valuable Puerto Rican base of supporters in the primary election. District 9's population is largely Hispanic and white, with almost 50 percent identified as Hispanic, according to Ballotpedia.org, an online encyclopedia of U.S. elections.
Soto has been a voice for Puerto Rico throughout its rebuilding process since Hurricane Maria devastated the island last year. See how he pushed for disaster relief and find out where he stands on other issues here.
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