7 Republicans aim to face Darren Soto in redrawn U.S. House district

Gary White

Lakeland Ledger

USA TODAY NETWORK

The electoral situation is quite different for the incumbent U.S. House of Representatives members whose redrawn districts include Polk County.

Seven Republicans will vie for the chance to challenge Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, in a thoroughly revised district that now favors Republicans. Meanwhile, Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Lakeland, will face a small field of challengers in District 18.

The deadline to qualify for U.S. House elections was June 12 at noon.

During a special session in late April, the Florida Legislature approved new congressional district maps created by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office. The unusual, mid-decade redistricting is intended to increase the advantage for Republicans, who now hold 20 of the state’s 28 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The action scrambled planned campaigns just weeks before the end of qualifying.

With the revised map, Polk County will have three congressional districts rather than four.

District 9, now held by Soto, currently encompasses a small portion of eastern Polk County, along with Osceola and part of Orange County. Under the new map, the district will include a section of southeast Polk and all or part of Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Highlands, Okeechobee and Glades counties.

The seven Republicans who qualified for the Aug. 18 primary election are Ben Butler, Marcus Carter, Thomas Chalifoux Jr., Dan Green, Jorge Antonio Malavet, Steve Rance and Justin Story. Stuart Farber is running as a no-party candidate. None of the candidates lives in Polk County.

District 16

The new map introduces an unfamiliar district to Polk County — District 16, in which incumbent Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, is not seeking another term. The district previously included all of Manatee County and part of eastern Hillsborough County.

The revised version of District 16 incorporates southern Polk County, including Fort Meade, and also contains parts of Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas, DeSoto and Hardee counties. It includes Bradenton and much of St. Petersburg.

Three Republicans and five Democrats have filed to run for the open seat, along with one no-party candidate. None of them live in Polk County.

The Democratic candidates are Jon Harris, Kelly Kirschner, Tamika Lyles, Glenn Pearson and Jan Schneider. The Republican candidates are Sydney Gruters, Ed Pope and Eddie Speir.

Mark Davis is running as a non-party candidate.

District 18

Redistricting shrank the boundaries of District 18, currently represented by Franklin. The district previously stretched all the way from Polk County to Collier County, including all of part of DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands and Okeechobee counties.

Franklin, a former Lakeland city commissioner, will be seeking a fourth term in Congress.

Only one Democrat qualified to run, Curtis Gibson of Lake Wales. Gibson is a former Lake Wales city commissioner.

The election has also attracted an Independent candidate, Kel Jacobs Britvec of Lakeland, and a non-party candidate, Deva Simmons of Lakeland.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

Seven Republicans will vie for the chance to run against U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, in a redrawn District 9, which includes a portion of Polk County.

Kristie Boyd,U.S. House Office of Photography

U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Lakeland, faces one Democrat, Curtis Gibson of Lake Wales, in the 2026 election. He also faces Independent candidate Kel Jacobs Britvec of Lakeland and no-party candidate Deva Simmons of Lakeland.

The Ledger file