Darren McAuley shifts to fight Gus Bilirakis in CD 12

Democratic congressional candidate Darren McAuley will drop a bid to challenge U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee and instead seek to oust U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis.

McAuley announced the move to run in Florida’s 12th Congressional District days after Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a new congressional map.

“The lines on the map may have changed, but my mission has not: I’m running to lower costs, make healthcare more affordable, and stop the corruption in Washington so hardworking Floridians have a fair shot at the American Dream,” McAuley said.

A former Veterans Affairs physician and Florida’s State Air Surgeon, McAuley originally announced his candidacy in Florida’s 15th Congressional District in July. At that point, that seat was considered a battleground seat and it primarily covered inland counties.

“The lines on the map may have changed, but my mission has not: I’m running to lower costs, make healthcare more affordable, and stop the corruption in Washington so hardworking Floridians have a fair shot at the American Dream,” McAuley said.

“I joined the Air National Guard as a third-year medical student a year before 9/11. I’ve deployed six times, cared for wounded veterans as a VA doctor, and led our medical response to hurricanes Milton and Helene as Florida’s State Air Surgeon.”

While Lee is continuing to run in the new configuration of CD 15, McAuley is the second major Democrat to shift away from that district and instead challenge Bilirakis. Kimberly Overman announced a similar switch earlier this week.

Bilirakis has already been elected to 10 terms and already said he will seek re-election under the new lines in CD 12. But the district is not as heavily Republican as it previously was.

Nearly 67% of voters in the outgoing configuration of CD 12 voted for Republican Donald Trump for President in 2024, and Bilirakis won re-election with 71% of the vote.

But under the new boundaries, just over 52% of voters supported Trump while more than 46% backed Democrat Kamala Harris, a lower margin than the President’s statewide win. The new lines also put CD 12 in most of Pasco County and northwest Hillsborough County, and move it farther from Bilirakis’ longtime Pinellas County home.

McAuley said a mid-decade redistricting will backfire by putting incumbents like Bilirakis at risk.

“Instead of facing voters, they launched this redistricting scheme. But they overreached,” he said of Florida Republicans. “Their new maps won’t save them from their failed leadership, and that’s why we have a real opportunity to come out on top. I’m ready for this fight, and so are Floridians.”

McAuley suggested voters in the battleground seat won’t be pleased with Bilirakis’ right-wing record.

But McAuley is counting on voters being ready for a wholesale change in Congress this Fall.

“So-called leaders in Congress know they’re in trouble. Tariffs and the war in Iran have sent prices skyrocketing, homeowners insurance rates are out of control, they have no plan for affordable healthcare, and too many Americans are working multiple jobs just to get by,” he said.

McAuley had been the top fundraiser among candidates challenging Lee, collecting more than $530,000 through the end of March and closing the quarter with $265,000 cash on hand.

While now running in CD 12, McAuley said he is following legal challenges to the new map.

“The Supreme Court just gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and Washington Republicans are moving quickly to break apart majority-Black districts and eliminate Democratic seats across the South,” McAuley said.

“Florida has never been more critical in the fight to retake the House, and I don’t trust a state Supreme Court stacked with right-wing political appointees to save us.”