Darren McAuley

Darren McAuley (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 12th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 18, 2026.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Housing should be affordable for Americans to be able to pursue their dreams and take care of their families. The country is suffering a housing affordability crisis and central Florida is at the epicenter of that crisis. Here our homeowners insurance is 300% the national average and we pay the highest utility bills in the nation. Large companies are making money hand over fist while stopping young families from buying in to the housing market to create generational wealth and inhibiting older residents from retiring with dignity and being able to downsize appropriately. It is the responsibility of a representative to advocate for the people and end this corporate pillaging of our community.Healthcare access should be expanded and made more affordable in the wealthiest country in the world. This includes Medicaid, Medicare, ACA coverage and employer based health care options. It’s a travesty that in the wealthiest nation in the world citizens can go bankrupt for the unfortunately circumstance of illness or injury. As a physician this is core to my belief system and central to my campaign.Tax dollars should primarily go towards services for the people! Not as a vehicle to make billionaires even more money. Examples include bolstering the VA, FEMA, CDC and NWS. As a VA physician I saw first hand how services that are supposed to be provided by the federal government are drastically reduced with reckless budget cuts. We have an obligation to be good stewards of public funds, however also can not lose sight of the fact that the purpose of those funds is to provide for the people. There are 50K veterans in our district. They deserve care and services. 1/3 of all national flood insurance program claims are in Florida, we need to strengthen FEMA and make sure our citizens can prepare for and clean up after catastrophic storms.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As an AIr National Guardsman I would like to strengthen our disaster response and further improve coordination with FEMA, FLEMA, FLANG, FLARNG and the FLDOH. This funding should also be earmarked to get down to the local level for our firefighters, EMS and police.

Worker protections to provide not only suitable wages but safe environments is often overlooked for corporate profits. This is entirely unacceptable.

A political system that breaks its promises to its warriors and veterans will break its promises to all of us. The cuts to the VA function were a harbinger for what’s to come for all of our citizens. Cutting their healthcare, their services and treating them with disrespect. Restoring the Fed Gov is vital, starting with VA.