Democratic official Val Demings would be far clear of Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida’s Senate election if it came down to money alone.
A key player who President Joe Biden eyed for his vice presidential candidate, the 65-year-old former Orlando chief of police raised much more cash in the race than Rubio ($48 million vs. $36 million).
The Money Didn’t Work
Demings also garnered support by capitalizing on the outrage over the Roe v. Wade decision. She may even point to recent Democratic legislative victories in Congress as evidence.
Though the contest is not only about winning money. Republicans claim Rubio, 51, is an experienced politician who runs successful campaigns.
He understands how to prevail in Florida politics, having won two statewide contests for the Senate with landslide victories.
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When will the media ask Pelosi puppet Val Demings to name just one achievement in her 6 years in D.C.? pic.twitter.com/tYYQP7sseg
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 25, 2022
Rubio is leading in the majority of public surveys.
Some Republicans claim the enthusiasm among their supporters, following the FBI search of former President Trump’s West Palm Beach resort Mar-a-Lago, cancels out whatever benefit Democrats received from Roe.
Supporters of Rubio also believe Demings’ fundraising advantage is really transitory, as a result of her massive early expenditures on digital fundraising companies. This will bring in waves of low-dollar donations, but at a very high cost.
According to conservative lobbyist Brian Ballard, who is assisting Rubio’s campaign, that is an expensive method of fundraising. Though eventually, that will come to an end.
Democrats will become involved in this election and believe they have a good chance as September approaches, he continued. Rubio will triumph by a margin of five to seven.
The Rubio-Demings race is one of several that will likely determine the future of the Senate.
It is becoming more important as several of the GOP candidates Trump backed are performing poorly, like Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, Herschel Walker in Georgia, as well as Blake Masters in Arizona.
Trump’s Endorsement
Rubio has Trump’s support, but the pair have a tense relationship. That is partly the result of their 2016 presidential campaign fight, in which they openly criticized one another.
Nevertheless, national and local issues like abortion, record-high prices under Biden, and each politician’s career in Congress are likely to have an impact on Florida’s Senate election.
As one of the most well-liked Republican leaders in the nation and a heavy favorite in his campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will run alongside Rubio on the ticket.
Breaking: Val Demings is officially the Democratic Nominee for US Senate in Florida. She will now take on and defeat Marco Rubio in the fall. Here is the latest poll from the University of North Florida
Val Demings: 48%
Marco Rubio: 44%— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) August 23, 2022
There were no comments from either campaign for this article.
Since neither contender had a strong opponent in Tuesday’s primary, the race received less early attention than the governor’s contest, largely due to Demings’ fundraising efforts.
Despite having collected close to $48 million, Demings spent close to $40 million, $10 million of which went into “digital advertising.” These are staggering sums for a contest that has not yet entered the general election.
Of his $36 million, Rubio has already spent $21 million.
This article appeared in The Patriot Brief and has been published here with permission.
