Florida Democrats have overwhelmingly picked Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., on Tuesday to face Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in November's midterm senatorial election, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Demings' primary victory over Brian Rush, William Sanchez, and Ricardo De La Fuente was convincing and sets up one of the biggest battlegrounds for the majority in the U.S. Senate this November.
Demings, a former police chief and a prodigious political fundraiser, has a chance to become Florida's first Black female senator.
For the first time in modern history, Florida has more registered Republicans — nearly 5.2 million — than Democrats, who have nearly 5 million registered voters.
And Republicans have no primary competition for four of those five positions — governor, U.S. Senate, attorney general and chief financial officer — which are all held by GOP incumbents.
Democrats hope Demings, who defeated a little-known candidate in her Senate primary Tuesday, can unseat Rubio, this fall. Other competitive Senate contests include neighboring Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania — all among battlegrounds from the 2020 presidential election.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.