Florida’s Val Demings to run against Rubio for Senate

Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings of Orlando is planning to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in his reelection campaign next year, top Democrats told reporters on Tuesday.

First reported by Politico, the news of Demings’ decision roiled Florida’s political landscape. Long considered a possible contender in next year’s governor’s race against other Democrats, such as U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried in what could be an uphill battle against incumbent Ron DeSantis, Demings has instead opted to challenge Rubio in the Senate.

A Demings adviser told the Tampa Bay Times that Demings is planning a Senate bid with a formal announcement coming in June. A national Democrat with knowledge of the party’s strategy on Senate races told the Times that Demings is “strongly considering running for the Senate.”

The Associated Press also reported that Demings was considering a run, according to two people familiar with the plans.

Politico reported that Demings decided to run against Rubio after growing frustrated with the U.S. Senate and its “obstruction” of initiatives by President Joe Biden.

An unnamed adviser told Politico that it was the way Republicans voted against a bill on COVID-19 relief that “pushed her over the edge” in deciding that the real battle to be won was against the Republicans in the Senate.

Politico quoted Alex Sink, Florida’s former chief financial officer who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010, who said she was on a recent Zoom call with Demings where she concluded that Demings would challenge Rubio.

Demings, 64, was Orlando’s first Black woman police chief. She won an Orlando seat in Congress in 2016. She rose to national prominence after she became one of the first Democrats to call for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment after the release of the Robert Mueller investigative report in 2019. As one of the impeachment managers in the U.S. House, she impressed many with her authoritative questioning of witnesses. She was later considered on the short list of names Biden was considering for vice president.

She told the Times in a December interview that she was considering her options and that early this year she would sit down with her family, which includes her husband, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, to determine what to do.

“I’ll continue to listen to the people and I’ll see where it takes me,” Demings said then. “I’m excited about the future.”