It’s Val Demings’s moment, this time for real. The Florida Democratic congresswoman, who’d made it to Joe Biden’s veep short list only to see Kamala Harris get the nod, has embraced a challenge to Republican Sen. Marco Rubio that few of her peers would entertain. Now, the spotlight is hers, and the Democratic Party is investing considerable hope in her. Will it pay off?

Demings, 64, has a compelling biography, especially for a party that has struggled to define its stance on law enforcement during a period of rising crime: She was the first black female police chief in Orlando. Despite Biden’s efforts to distance Democrats from the movement, down-ballot candidates have found themselves bedeviled by “defund the police,” a cause taken up by the far Left and lawmakers who mostly represent safe blue districts. But Democrats also represent a large number of minority voters who are directly affected by perceived racial disparities in policing yet are no less concerned about crime and public safety.