Former United Nations Ambassador Nancy Soderberg is challenging Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL6) for his Northeast Florida congressional seat.
Soderberg, a Democrat, is director of the public service leadership program at the University of North Florida. She was U.N. ambassador under President Bill Clinton and worked at the U.S. National Security Council during his administration.
Soderberg ran unsuccessfully for the Florida state Senate in 2012. DeSantis briefly ran for U.S. Senate last year, but he withdrew and ran to keep his seat in the House after Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) dropped out of the presidential race and ran for reelection.
Monica DePaul, an English professor at UNF, is also looking at a congressional run. She said she will run as a Democrat against freshman Republican Congressman and former Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford for his District 4 seat. DePaul is transgender, and she’s active in the Northeast Florida LBGT community. If elected, she would be the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress.
