Incumbency has its advantages, and we’re seeing that play out in different ways in four Central Florida congressional races.
Democrats Val Demings and Darren Soto and Republicans Bill Posey and Daniel Webster are running for reelection in fairly safe districts. Even with the financial and name-recognition advantages of incumbency, Demings and Soto have actively campaigned and defended their records.
We’re recommending voters return Demings and Soto to Congress, and consider the alternative to Posey. The Webster race? We’ll get to that shortly.
Val Demings, District 10
We did not endorse Demings when she first ran for the House in 2012. Now she’s gone from a being a political upstart to a marquee name in the Democratic party.
Her rags-to-political-riches life story and background as Orlando police chief earned her serious consideration as Joe Biden’s vice-presidential nominee. We’re not sure Demings is ready to be a heartbeat away from becoming the leader of the free world, but we’re quite confident she can represent the west side of Orange County in Congress.
Demings has established herself as a strong voice on homeland security and law enforcement. She’s a proponent of police reform but, as a former chief, Demings has a more grounded view than some of her Democratic colleagues.
She’s a staunch advocate of women’s reproductive rights and expanding the health-care system. That makes her the philosophical opposite of her opponent, Vennia Francois.
Francois also has an admirable background. She’s one of nine children from parents who immigrated from the Bahamas to Orlando. She became a lawyer and was a member of former Sen. Mel Martinez’s staff. We’d like to say more about her but Francois ducked our Editorial Board interviews in the Republican primary and now in the general election. Not very courageous.
Francois says Demings has become a creature of the D.C. swamp and has lost touch with her home district. We think Demings has become a star while ably handling her congressional chores, and she should be returned to Washington.
Darren Soto, District 9
Soto hasn’t gained the notoriety of Demings since first being elected to Congress in 2016, but it’s not for lack of accomplishments.
He’s been a plowhorse on issues ranging from health care, energy and the environment. Soto has fought to bring affordable housing to his district, which desperately needs it.
He’s the first House member of Puerto Rican descent from Florida. That means a lot to many voters in Osceola County, which makes up much of District 9. It also makes this race more challenging for his opponent, Bill Olson.
Olson’s a decorated Army veteran and has emphasized fighting terrorism, shutting down illegal immigration, lower taxes and less business regulation.
He’s a political newcomer, and the lack of seasoning sometimes shows. Olson ideas on issues like health care reform are not well formed. On offshore oil drilling, he begged off by saying he would go with whatever his constituents want. That’s a cop out.
District 9 voters need a representative who has a grasp of their problems and the work ethic to solve them. Soto has met those standards.
Jim Kennedy, District 8
Republican voters missed a rare opportunity in the primary. Retired Air Force aviator Scott Caine was a fresh, conservative face on the scene. Less doctrinaire than Posey, and a lot more eager.
But Posey won, and is sitting pretty with a massive GOP registration lead on the Space Coast. We would like to have asked Posey about what he’s done these past five terms, and why he deserves a sixth term, but he refused to be interviewed, just as he did in the primary.
His opponent deserves a look.
Jim Kennedy is a pro-Second Amendment Democrat with moderate positions and detailed knowledge of issues. He’s an aerospace engineer, so he could probably handle whatever learning curve there is in Congress. And he cares about the very real problems his constituents face.
After five terms of Bill Posey, District 8 needs the breath of political fresh air Kennedy would bring.
No endorsement, District 11
The candidate we endorsed over Demings in 2012 was none other than Republican Daniel Webster. Now we’re wondering whatever happened to that guy?
After a stellar career in the state Legislature, Webster’s settled into cozy semi-retirement in Congress. He co-sponsored just four bills in the 116th Congress, though that’s more than he managed in some previous terms.
Like Posey, Webster probably didn’t see an upside to an Editorial Board interview with his Democratic opponent, Dana Marie Cottrell, considering his district is about as GOP-heavy as they come.
He probably wouldn’t have risked much, given Cottrell’s positions. Most voters in the district aren’t keen on the Green New Deal or supporting the Black Lives Matter organization.
This is a repeat of the 2018 race. Back then, we lamented Webster’s malaise and wrote that Cottrell “should spend more time figuring out how to meet her constituents' expectations.”
We concluded by writing, “We see no reason to make a recommendation in this race.”
Two years later, we see no reason again.
Latest Endorsements
Election endorsements are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, which consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick, David Whitley and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Sentinel Columnist Scott Maxwell participates in interviews and deliberations. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com. Watch interviews with these and other candidates at OrlandoSentinel.com/interviews.