Rep. Darren Soto’s (D-FL) apparently “notorious libido” while a member of the Florida legislature forced his colleagues to rein in his sex drive through a prank on the House floor.
The episode is receiving renewed attention as Soto faces a difficult reelection path in central Florida after state lawmakers redrew his district to favor Republicans.
National Republicans previously viewed Soto as a target after President Donald Trump made inroads in the old district in 2024. Trump lost the seat by 3.5 points that year after losing the seat by more than 17 points in 2020. But redistricting catapulted the district into a top GOP pickup opportunity.
In 2008, while a member of the Florida House, Soto, then 30, received a note from a woman purporting to be a student at Florida State University. The woman declared herself a secret admirer of the young lawmaker, prompting him to break House rules to enter the visitor’s gallery to meet her, actually a paid actress.
Soto had played right into the hands of his legislative colleagues.
Marco Rubio, then speaker of the state House, declared Soto out of order and had him handcuffed by the sergeant-at-arms.
Rubio announced the prank, which was conspired in order to put a check on Soto’s “notorious libido,” something seemingly well known at the time and dating back to his days as a law student.
Soto also had a brief rap career while in law school, penning sexually explicit lyrics for a satirical school publication. The song centers on a sexual encounter with a drunk woman and makes sexual puns of legal terminology.
“Back when we were both 1-L’s you were in my section / I spent everyday in Con Law, hiding my erection,” the failed poet wrote.
“Thank you for not filing a grievance for sexual duress / And thanks for granting my motion to get undressed,” the rap continues.
“I want to insert my dicta and give you my full case load,” wrote Soto, “I want to show you the wonders of the penal code.”
Soto’s office did not respond to a request for comment by the Washington Examiner.
Moreover, a fictitious profile for the publication declares his occupation as “Wielder of the shaft” and his course of study “Sex Law.”
The prank, rap, and comments come to light as the Democratic Party grapples with licentious behavior among its candidates. Embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner allegedly sent explicit messages to other women while married. Former California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell was accused of sexual misconduct in April, forcing him to drop out of the California gubernatorial primary.
Soto has not faced a competitive election since his primary in 2016 but is set to face the most difficult test of his career this cycle after Florida Republicans redrew the congressional boundaries and dismantled his Orlando-area seat.
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Trump would have won the new district, which stretches farther in central Florida, by about 17 points in 2024.
Republican Dan Green, a Navy reserve officer and a former Pentagon appointee under Trump, launched his challenge to Soto on Monday, pledging $1 million of his own money to fuel the campaign.