Demings in new ad stresses independence from Democratic Party

Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) in a new campaign ad is distancing herself from some rhetoric in the Democratic Party on major issues, announcing she does not support “defunding” the police or releasing violent criminals.

Demings, who is running for Florida’s Senate seat against Republican incumbent Marco Rubio, touted her experience as a former police officer in the campaign ad before she separates herself from Democrats.

“I learned as a police officer you stand up for what’s right, no matter what — that’s how you put the bad guys away and keep Florida safe,” she said. “In Congress, I did the same. I stood up to those in my party who wanted to defund the police. I was one of a few Democrats who voted to make sure violent criminals go to jail and stay there.”

The ad also references Kate’s Law, a bill introduced in the House in 2017 that seeks to impose harsher sentences on migrants who are deported and reenter the U.S. and migrants with convictions.

The new campaign ad comes as Demings trails Rubio by 6 points in the latest polling, a lead the GOP senator has consistently held over the Democrat.

Florida is a battleground state that former President Trump barely won in the 2020 election, but Rubio has held his Senate seat since 2010.

The Cook Political Report rates the seat as “lean Republican.”

Demings, a former Orlando police chief, is pushing against the odds by running as a law-and-order candidate on the Democratic ticket.

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