Central Florida Congressman Darren Soto must be worried running for reelection as his latest fundraising shows weakness and vulnerability.
U.S. Representative Darren Soto must be running scared because his Q3 fundraising numbers are exposing he may be far too unpopular to help himself, and Republicans are paying attention to one of the most vulnerable Democrats in Congress.
With the added focus, many critics of the Central Florida Congressman say the Democrat took his seat in Congress for granted for too long. From voting repeatedly with the far left to raising hardly any money, Republicans said Rep. Soto put in zero work to keep his seat, and now it’s too little, too late. While Soto has relied on his close relationships with Democratic Party insiders to get to where he is now, they do not appear to be supporting him with fundraising that will be critical to winning the contested Florida congressional seat.
Democrat Darren Soto raised an abysmal $158,049 and $161,934 in Q1 and Q2. He had his best quarter yet in Q3, but he still only brought in an embarrassing $264,730 – showing he is not in the top tier of Democrats in Congress.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting Soto along with about 25 other races. For context, out of the 25 vulnerable Democrats being targeted by the NRCC this cycle, Soto had the third-lowest fundraising total in Q3. Another Florida Democrat, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, only raised slightly more at $371,946, while other targeted Democrats raised $1 million or close to that in Q3.
In even worse news for Darren Soto, of the little money he did manage to raise, just 16% of it came from inside of the state of Florida. Notably, 11% came from DC, and 45% came from Texas. And of the $264k total that Rep. Soto brought in, a whopping $184,000 came from PACs. That does not show grassroots support or local enthusiasm for Darren Soto.
The lack of money and support within Florida is a really big problem for Soto, as his district has become extremely competitive. Voters have moved toward the GOP by 22.9% from 2016-2024, and the GOP voter share among Latinos has shot up from 29% in 2018 to 43% in 2024.
The NRCC is also attacking Rep. Soto for routinely appearing with “radical lunatic Maxwell Frost who wants dangerous criminals to roam free, to dismantle Medicaid entirely, and defund the police.” Soto’s congressional district is different politically from Rep. Frost’s safe Orlando district and Republicans are highlighting how Soto is “out of touch” with his voters and saying he has repeatedly voted against his own constituents’ best interests.
In this Congress alone, Rep. Darren Soto has voted to: raise taxes on his constituents by 22%, allow illegal immigrants to decide U.S. elections, allow men to compete in girls’ sports which jeopardizes female athlete’s safety, and he voted against the most historic investment in border security funding. Soto voted to shut down the federal government, blocking flood insurance, jeopardizing disaster relief funding, and jeopardizing Florida’s housing market.
To fight back against this kind of messaging, Congressman Darren Soto needs a campaign war chest and an enthusiastic base of supporters – both of those seem to be missing.
The NRCC pointed out that Darren Soto is showing that he has zero ability to fundraise and that exposes weak support within Florida, “and his voting record and ties to Maxwell Frost make it easy to see why.”
“Out of touch Democrat Darren Soto has taken his seat in Congress for granted for too long,” said NRCC Spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole. “His lazy, self-serving behavior has caught up to him, and he’s serving his last term in Congress.”
