Senate: Rubio runs again, seeks 3rd term

Any Senate seat is important in a chamber currently split 50/ 50 between Republicans and Democrats, with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tiebreaker for Democrats.

Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is seeking his third term in office, having been handily reelected in

2016 despite a late entry into the race following his unsuccessful run for president. That decision came after several statements that he was “frustrated” with the Senate and his comments that he wouldn’t run again.

In 2022, Rubio has long shed his

2016 criticisms of Trump to become one of the former president’s staunchest defenders, appearing at Trump rallies and slamming the Jan. 6 House committee investigation of the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol.

By far the biggest name in the Democratic primary looking to take on Rubio is U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Orlando.

A former Orlando police chief, married to current Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, she gained national attention as one of then-President Trump’s prosecutors during his first impeachment trial in January

2020. She was on President Biden’s shortlist for running mate later that year.

Her law enforcement background has come under criticism by progressives and police reform advocates, especially amid the protests after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020.

But Demings has also cited her experience as the city’s first Black woman chief as providing her a unique perspective.

The race has already become bitter, with Rubio attempting to portray Demings as a “radical” and Demings repeatedly tying Rubio to Trump. While Demings might get out the African American vote, a key base for Democrats, Rubio’s Cuban heritage will likely help him among a South Florida Cuban community that sharply turned toward Trump in 2020.

So far, though, Demings has outraised Rubio since her announcement, pulling in $8.4 million in contributions from July through September compared with Rubio’s $6 million that quarter.

But Rubio had more cash in hand at the end of September, the latest filing deadline, with about $9.6 million to Demings’ $6 million.

“If Val Demings could knock off Rubio, it will make it a lot more difficult for Republicans to take over the majority in the Senate,” Jewett said. “… For Democrats nationally, they need to give it their best effort. They need to invest fully in Florida, in terms of ad spending and in terms of candidate support for Val Demings, if they want to have a chance.”