The race for Florida’s 9th Congressional District remains too close to call, with Democratic Rep. Darren Soto leading Republican challenger Dan Green by just 1,477 votes .
With 95% of the vote reported Wednesday morning, Soto had 50.26% of the vote, compared with Green’s 49.75%. The margin is narrow enough to trigger a machine recount under Florida law if it remains at or below half a percentage point.
The close race follows Republicans redrawing the district to include more conservative areas, including Glades County, in hopes of defeating Soto, a longtime Democratic incumbent.
Green was seen as having a strong chance of flipping the seat for Republicans. But the race remained tight following an election night in which Democrats made major gains nationally, even as Republicans won statewide races in Florida.
Green wins big in Glades County
Glades County voters strongly backed Green, giving him 70% of the vote compared with about 30% for Soto — a 40-percentage-point margin.
Overall voter turnout in Glades County reached 56%, with 3,844 of the county’s 6,877 eligible voters casting ballots. That included 723 mail ballots and 888 early in-person votes. The remaining 2,233 votes were cast on Election Day.
Green’s strong showing in Glades County came after a difficult Republican primary in August.
He narrowly defeated Ben Butler to win the GOP nomination, even though a majority of Glades County Republican primary voters supported Butler.
Soto declares victory despite close results
Soto declared victory Tuesday night, pointing to his narrow lead as evidence that voters supported his record despite Republican efforts to change the district’s boundaries.
“Despite the Florida Republican legislature’s efforts to redraw me out of this district, my record of delivering for Florida showed voters that I am a reliable fighter for them in Congress,” Soto said.
He said he had traveled across the newly drawn district, including Glades County, to hear voters’ concerns. “I have spoken to voters across this new district, from Orange to Osceola to Polk to Indian River to Okeechobee to Highlands and to Glades, about the issues they are facing and how I can best serve them,” he said.
But with votes still outstanding and a recount expected if the margin remains this close, the race has not been officially decided. A recount could change the final margin, although it does not necessarily mean the outcome will change.