The battle for Congressional District 9 has been whittled down to two candidates.

  • Darren Soto won the Democratic primary
  • Wayne Liebnitzky won the Repulican primary

One the Democratic side, Darren Soto. He held a watch party at the Gateway Ramada Hotel in Kissimmee where supporters celebrated his primary win.

Soto is calling this race historic. If he wins the general election, he would be Florida’s first member in Congress of Puerto Rican descent.

“[The] Puerto Rican community here has not had anyone in Florida climb these heights,” said Nancy Rosado, a Soto supporter. “This a role model for our children.”

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Soto says the Hispanic voters were the boost that lifted him up in the race. He says this was special win, not only for him, but also for his family.

“Our people came out but we had Anglos, African Americans, Asians and Middle Easterners and so many others who helped out,” said Soto. “While I am so proud of our culture, I am going to be everybody’s nominee.”

Soto faces the Republican Primary winner Wayne Liebnitzky. He’s a local business-man and this is his first time running for political office.

Liebnitzky held his watch party in St. Cloud. We spoke to him over the phone and he said he was excited to represent the Republicans.