Republican congressional candidate Dan Green is making his case against incumbent Rep. Darren Soto in Florida's 9th Congressional District, arguing that Soto's votes against tax relief and parental rights make him a reliable ally for the far left.
Green laid out his indictment of Soto during a September 17 appearance on Breitbart News Daily, the SiriusXM Patriot 125 morning program. His central charge: Soto has voted against eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits, three pocketbook measures that Green framed as basic fairness for working families struggling with rising costs.
Green also accused Soto of opposing parental consent protections related to minors and transgender medical procedures, casting the incumbent as someone willing to undermine families to satisfy his party's progressive wing.
Beyond individual votes, Green warned that returning Soto to Washington amounts to handing power to ideological allies far to the left of most Floridians. He put it bluntly on air:
"He's a Democrat who's going to be a vote in favor of Democratic socialists. His election will enable Democratic socialists to be in power in Washington, and if you think you know Black Lives Matter was a challenge many years ago, wait until you see Democratic socialists in power."
Green did not specify whether he was referring to the Democratic Socialists of America as an organization or using the term as a broader political label. Either way, his argument follows a familiar and effective line for Republican challengers in competitive Florida seats: tie the incumbent to the national party's most progressive faction and let voters draw their own conclusions.
The strategy has particular relevance in the current Florida political landscape. The state's August 2026 primaries produced a string of results that underscored how far left the Democratic bench has drifted. In the most striking example, former Trump impeachment witness Alex Vindman lost his Democratic Senate primary to Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, as the New York Post reported. That upset gave Green's warning about socialist influence a concrete, recent data point, a DSA-affiliated candidate now sits atop the Florida Democratic Senate ticket.
Green spent much of his interview hammering the cost-of-living squeeze facing voters in the district. He rattled off grocery prices, gas prices, and property insurance rates as burdens that demand legislative relief, not more government.
"We need to discipline government and get it out of our pockets and out of our pocketbooks, and really make sure we're out of the way for people to live their lives. That to me is a really big issue for this campaign."
He framed Soto's votes against tax relief on tips, overtime, and Social Security as evidence that the incumbent is out of step with a district where affordability dominates kitchen-table conversations.
"It's just a whole bunch of issues. You know, if you look at it, for example, he voted against getting rid of taxes on tips, which is to me is such a basic fundamental issue of fairness. People right now are dealing with a lot of cost issues and affordability issues."
Green added that Soto also voted against eliminating taxes on overtime pay and Social Security benefits, measures Green described as essential at "this challenging time."
Green broadened his critique beyond economics. He alleged Soto voted against legislation that would have required parental consent before minors could undergo transgender-related medical procedures.
"Voted against barring parents from having meetings, have consent for their children to engage in transgender, you know, surgery or any sort of things like that. So that's undermining parental rights and parental consent."
Green did not cite a specific bill number or roll-call vote during the interview, and Soto has not publicly responded to these characterizations. But the parental rights argument carries weight in Florida, where state-level legislation on the issue has drawn national attention and broad support from Republican voters.
Florida's 9th Congressional District is currently held by Soto, a Democrat, but has been characterized as a Republican pickup opportunity. Green's aggressive posture on the airwaves suggests his campaign sees an opening, particularly in a cycle where Florida's political tides continue to run rightward.
The broader Florida primary landscape reinforced that momentum. Byron Donalds, endorsed by President Trump, dominated the Republican gubernatorial primary in August with 47.8 percent of the vote, nearly doubling his closest rival. If Donalds wins in November, he would become Florida's first black governor. Meanwhile, the GOP lost one incumbent, Rep. Cory Mills fell to former TV reporter Ryan Elijah, but the overall energy on the Republican side pointed toward a party consolidating strength across the state.
For Green, the formula is straightforward: pin Soto to his voting record, connect him to the Democratic Party's leftward drift, and offer voters a clear alternative grounded in lower taxes, smaller government, and parental authority.
Whether Soto answers those charges or lets them stand will say as much about the state of this race as anything Green puts on the airwaves. Voters who are paying more for groceries, gas, and insurance tend to notice when their congressman voted to keep taxing their tips.
