Former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson wants his old seat back, and is preparing to file Tuesday to take on fellow-Democrat, incumbent U.S. Rep. Darren Soto in Florida's 9th Congressional District.
Grayson, who has been preparing for months for a last-minute announcement on a new run for Congress, holding back only the where, not the what or when, told WESH-TV News that he is filing in Florida's 9th Congressional Disrict, which he represented from 2012-2016, before he left it for a failed run for the U.S. Senate.
Grayson also represented Florida's 10th Congressional District from 2008-2010. In recent weeks he has hinted about seeking possible returns in either of those districts, as well as possibly in several others in the Central Florida area.
Soto, a former state senator, was elected in 2016 to represent the district covering Osceola County, eastern Polk County, and southern Orange County.
Grayson told WESH-TV that polling suggests he remains popular in CD 9, and that he believes he has more appeal among Hispanic voters than does Soto, who is of Puerto Rican descent, "because people know that I've done useful things."
Both Soto and Grayson are lawyers.
The leading Republican in the race is Saint Cloud businessman Wayne Liebnitzky, who said he expects to qualify Tuesday for the ballot.
Soto is formally kicking off his re-election campaign at a rally Thursday morning in Kissimmee.