Sen. Marco Rubio‘s (R-FL) 12 years in the Senate representing Florida will be parsed as he and Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) debate for the first and final time three weeks before Election Day.
While Rubio’s record will be scrutinized, challenger Demings will have to contend with an unfavorable national political environment as Democrats try to hold on to the currently evenly divided chamber.
BIDEN MAY BE READY FOR BIG STEP IN RACE AGAINST CHINESE TECHNOLOGY
Like his counterparts across the country, Rubio, a career politician born of Cuban immigrants, has criticized Demings for President Joe Biden‘s and Democrats’ economic management amid recalcitrant inflation, in addition to what he has described as her “soft” on crime and immigration policies.
In response, Demings has amplified her time as Orlando’s first female police chief as opposed to her three terms in the House, referring to herself as “Chief Demings” in her promotional materials, despite rising to prominence as one of former President Donald Trump‘s first impeachment managers. On offense, she has condemned Rubio’s co-sponsorship of Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s (R-SC) proposed 15-week nationwide abortion ban.
Throughout, Demings has distanced herself from Biden, even approving a 30-second ad titled “Independent.” Although she did host first lady Jill Biden in her hometown last weekend, she is so far not scheduled to appear alongside the president when he travels to Fort Lauderdale next month for a former Gov. Charlie Crist (D-FL) gubernatorial campaign reception.
The Rubio-Demings race was briefly suspended as Hurricane Ian barreled toward the state’s southwest coast and has since been preoccupied with its devastating and deadly aftermath given more than 100 people died because of the Category 4 storm. Yet the pair have attacked each other’s reaction to the disaster, including over support of federal funding bills.
The Cook Political Report considers the Rubio-Demings contest a “lean Republican” matchup. Rubio averages a 5 percentage point lead, according to FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics.
Rubio first won the seat in 2010 by 19 points over Crist, previously a Republican who ran then as an independent, and former Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL). He was reelected in 2016 against former Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL) with a 7-point margin of victory.
BIDEN MAY BE READY FOR BIG STEP IN RACE AGAINST CHINESE TECHNOLOGY
The “Before You Vote” debate, staged from Palm Beach State College’s Lake Worth campus, will be moderated by ABC affiliate WPBF 25 anchor Todd McDermott from 7-8 p.m EST.
