With Election Day 2022 still being more than a year away, the Florida Senate race between incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and challenger Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), appears as if it will be a race that will get ugly, fast. However, fundraising says a lot about a candidacy, and Rubio's fundraising prowess shows a grim reality for Demings' Senate bid.
Senator Rubio, who has held his seat since 2011 and has even run for president in 2016, has raised more than double what the Demings senatorial campaign has reported during the 2022 election cycle. Rubio reported having raised $13,123,769.55, while Demings has raised $5,031,896.95. Equivalent to roughly 2.6 times the resources.
The data is a good indicator of how the rest of the campaign will proceed. But some senate bids can raise almost $100 million, especially Democrat candidates in the last election cycle, so it is still anyone's race?
Rubio has been banking on the leftist ideology of Socialism and has branded his opponent as a "radical." Rep. Demings has since responded to the accusations and shared that it “offended” her that Rubio would “use the pain and suffering of people” to advance his political career.
Demings' record speaks for itself as Senator Rubio tweeted that Demings voting record aligns with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) 90% of the time. The same congresswoman called funding for Israel an "act of terrorism." Although it is important to note that Demings has backed the police in incidents the Left fully attacked law enforcement on, but has voted in favor of defunding police by voting in favor of the George Floyd Act.
Val Demings votes with👇 over 90% of the time https://t.co/BUPlVcmlgk
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 9, 2021
However, with Cuban protests in the news and the GOP's advantage in the 2022 midterm according to previously reported polls of Capitol Hill employees, it is safe to say that the Socialist name tag could make this Senate race a steep uphill climb for Demings.
