Gonna be a tough one for Demings and Democrats….
Florida has turned into a Red state mostly these days….
Florida Rep. Val Demings is planning to run for the U.S. Senate, rather than governor, providing Democrats with a big-name candidate to take on Republican Sen. Marco Rubio next year.
For months, Demings mulled which statewide office to pursue, but decided she could do the most good by taking on the two-term senator, according to several Democrats familiar with her thinking.
“I would’ve supported her running for governor, but this is the right fit for her and for us,” said Alex Sink, a former Florida chief financial officer who narrowly lost her 2010 bid for governor against Rick Scott, who is now a senator…
…
Demings, 64, was first elected to the House in 2016 from Orlando and held the distinction of being the city’s first Black woman police chief. She rose to national prominence as the only non-lawyer on the first House impeachment committee to charge President Donald Trump with wrongdoing. As a Black woman and law enforcement officer, her background made her uniquely situated to be a national Democratic spokesperson for policing and race issues — it helped catapult her to President Joe Biden’s shortlist as a possible running mate in 2020.
A top adviser to Demings compared her personal biography to Rubio this way: “She’s the daughter of a maid and a janitor who became the first Black woman police chief in Orlando. He’s the son of a maid and a bartender who’s a career politician.”…
Note…
Kyle Kondik: “A telling sign about the pro-Republican redistricting outlook in Florida: Reps. Charlie Crist, Stephanie Murphy, and Val Demings all won their seats following a court-ordered remap in advance of 2016. They now are all reportedly running statewide as a fresh GOP gerrymander looms.”
image…wfla.com
And on the subject of Dead Man Walking…
Ga. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says he’s running for re-election.Likely there will be a bevy of ambitious Trumpites running against him?Depending on how many and their relative strength statewide,Raffensperger might make it to the runoff where ,of course, he will lose.
Murphy Drops Senate Bid In Florida
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) won’t run for U.S. Senate, a decision that was sealed after fellow Florida Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) signaled recently she will likely challenge incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Politico reports.
Said Murphy: “The reality is that Marco Rubio will not be an easy opponent especially if it’s on the heels of a bruising primary where Democrats spend millions attacking each other.”
…
Val Demings Spends Big on Facebook Ads
Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) “was the highest spending elected official on Facebook ads last week, throwing down $100k+ on fundraising ads ahead of an expected U.S. Senate campaign launch,” FWIW reports.
She’s In!….
Orlando Democratic Rep. Val Demings on Wednesday launched her bid to knock off GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, a race that Democrats hope to use to regain relevance in a state dominated by Republicans.
Demings, a 64-year-old black former Orlando police chief, is seen as the Democrat’s top statewide candidate. She had eyed a run for governor before POLITICO reported in May that she was shifting focus to challenge Rubio. That move sent ripple effects throughout the field, as Demings was seen as a likely favorite in either Democratic primary race…
More…