Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) faces a tough challenge against Florida Rep. Val Demings (D). As expected, the contest has been a highly publicized and watched midterm race that could determine the overall makeup of the U.S. Senate. However, as Democrats rally behind President Joe Biden (D), Republicans are now rallying against the gubernatorial Democratic ticket of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez. Dubbing Crist's running mate "Karla Marx," Senator Rubio's team is joining the call to make sure Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) wins reelection in November.
Since announcing his pick for Lt. Governor, Florida Rep. Charlie Crist (D) has maintained that Democrats have a winning ticket in November. However, GOP members are quick to silence the praise as Crist's running mate has drawn considerable criticism for past remarks.
Likening Demings to Karla Hernandez-Mats, the Rubio team is chiding both for having "a love of school lockdowns." Both DeSantis and Rubio argued against school lockdowns, and the Rubio team notes that Demings called reopening schools a "recipe for disaster" while Hernandez-Mats said that "we should have stayed 100% virtual."
In a statement, Elizabeth Gregory, the communications director for the Rubio campaign, slammed both Demings and Hernandez-Mats, commenting that "Val and Karla are two peas in a radical pod."
"They're lockdown libs who appease socialists rather than advocate for Florida values, and they can't be trusted to fight for freedom," Gregory said, adding that "it's no surprise that Demings has chosen to align herself with another member of the far-left."
Hernandez-Mats has since taken to social media to chide Governor DeSantis, likening his administration to an authoritarian one. However, Hernandez-Mats faced criticism years ago after the death of Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro's death.
DeSantis is removing elected officials and arresting voters. These abuses of power are familiar to us who have seen what happens in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Like Castro, Ron is moving our state closer to authoritarian rule. Charlie and I will stop this wannabe dictator.
— Karla Hernández (@KarlaforFlorida) September 5, 2022
Responding to his death, Hernandez-Mats tweeted, "a political figure dies at 90. Most in Miami rejoice, many in Cuba mourn," which has gained her the nickname "Karla Marx" from political rivals.
The tweet has since been deleted.
