Val Demings to challenge Marco Rubio for Florida Senate seat gainesville.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gainesville.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
U.S. Rep. Val Demings made it official Wednesday she will challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio next year.
Demings, an Orlando Democrat, has been in the U.S. House since 2017. Rubio, a West Miami Republican, is completing his second term in the U.S. Senate. It is time for someone to stand up and speak up for the people of Florida, Demings said Wednesday in chiding Rubio for voting against stimulus payments and lacking the courage to advocate for the state s residents.
Pollster Michael Binder said Demings entry into the race virtually guarantees another midterm election year of heavy voter turnout and big dollar-fundraising campaigns in the Sunshine State. In addition to the hotly-contested U.S. Senate race, he noted Florida will also be home to another barnburner gubernatorial campaign.