Florida Midterm Elections Sen. Marco Rubio Wins Re-election Against Democratic Rep. Val Demings
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio cruised to reelection Tuesday night as Democrats across the state collapsed, NBC News reported. This makes him the first Florida Republican to win three terms in the US Senate.
Val Demings spent far more money than Rubio, yet the latter's victory was no surprise to political experts from either party.
They cited the difficult headwinds Democrats faced, Florida's rightward shift, and the long and strong coattails of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' juggernaut campaign.
Both Republicans and Democrats agree that Rubio's popularity among Hispanic voters tipped Florida's electoral map in his favor.
Rubio has been in office longer than any other Hispanic state legislator in Florida, while the state's Hispanic population is rising faster than any other major demographic.
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Republican Early Voters Contributed to Marco Rubio's Win
According to the most recent Florida Midterm Elections office data, issued Tuesday morning, around 316,000 more Republicans than Democrats voted early, either by mail or in person.
More than 4.9 million Floridians voted early, accounting for more than half of all voters, the Tallahassee Democrat noted.
Republicans garnered over 4,000 more early votes than Democrats in Miami-Dade, the state's largest county.
In the past, more Democrats have voted in Miami-Dade than Republicans.
To win the Florida midterm elections, Democrats need a big margin of victory in South Florida's big counties, like Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.
In the state's smaller and more rural counties, Republicans usually win by big margins.
Val Demings' campaign advertising and speeches emphasized Rubio's Senate record and his anti-abortion stance.
Rubio said that Demings constantly voted with President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and that, throughout her six years in Congress, she never passed any substantial legislation on her own.
Meanwhile, their only debate last month covered topics such as border security, climate change, voting rights, and US-China ties, among others.
The heated debate got out of hand at points, with both candidates talking over and at each other. They mostly rehashed the key ideas of their talks across Florida and regular appearances on network news channels.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio's Political History
Rubio has served in the US Senate since 2011 and made rapid political advancements at an early age. He was in his 30s when he served as speaker of the Florida House from 2006 to 2008.
He tried to get the Republican nomination for president in 2016 but failed. In the end, Donald Trump got the nomination.
Rubio opted to seek his Senate position again after losing the presidential election, despite having stated that he would leave Congress in 2017.
However, voters were unconcerned, and Rubio easily retained his seat, Yahoo! reported.
During the 2022 race, he boasted about his accomplishments, such as increasing the child tax credit and assisting in the creation of the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Marco Rubio speaks both English and Spanish well. He is the son of Cuban immigrants who moved to Miami, where he grew up.
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Written by: Bert Hoover
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