ORLANDO, Fla. - Former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., kicked off a campaign Tuesday to try to return to Congress in a redrawn Orlando-area district. Grayson filed paperwork to run in Congressional District 10, which is open as incumbent Democrat Val Demings runs for the U.S. Senate.
The District 10 race has drawn several other candidates, including state Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Ocoee. Grayson served in Congress in 2009 and 2010 and from 2013 through 2016. He unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2016 before trying to win back a congressional seat in 2018. He lost that race to U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla. Districts were redrawn this year as part of the once-a-decade reapportionment process.
In his last year in Congress, Grayson was the subject of a 1,000-page report issued by the House Ethics Committee on the congressman's use of a hedge fund and other charges that he improperly used his office to campaign. Grayson strongly denied those accusations and the investigation was discontinued.
Florida Democrats have protested the Florida Legislature’s passage of the state's redistricting map, crafted by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Many critics of the map say it heavily favors Republicans and doesn’t properly reflect the state’s demographics. Some have argued that the remapping of congressional districts will diminish the state's black representation in Washington, D.C.
Also, the previous congressional map had 27 seats with 16 of those going to Republicans. The new map has 28 seats (one seat has been added due to reapportionment following the 2020 Census) with a projected 20 in favor of the GOP. Critics feel this doesn’t properly represent the state’s registered voters that are split nearly 50-50 between the two major parties.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.