Darren Soto

Darren Soto has another job description besides congressman: singer, songwriter and guitarist in the Orange Creek Riders, an Orlando folk rock band.¹ His favorite musicians include Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley and Tom Petty, and he married Sheyla Asencios in 2026.¹

He was born in Ringwood, New Jersey, to a Puerto Rican father and an Italian American mother, and studied economics at Rutgers before attending George Washington University's law school.² He moved to Florida in 2002, while still studying law, and built a practice covering commercial, real estate, family and civil rights cases.² Before elected office, he also represented Hispanic voters in a challenge to Kissimmee's city commission election system.²

Soto won a 2007 special election to the Florida House, later served in the state Senate and entered Congress in 2017.² In Washington, he helped advance legislation designating Orlando's Pulse Memorial a national memorial, which became law in June 2021.³⁴ His record also includes votes for the infrastructure law and the CHIPS and Science Act.²

Soto says he wants to reverse cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act assistance, expand affordable housing and ban congressional stock trading.⁵ He also supports local control over data centers and protecting households from their utility costs.⁵ The redrawn district now includes Indian River County and additional rural territory, bringing new voters into his reelection race against Republican Dan Green.¹