PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – One of the most closely watched Senate races in the country will take place in Florida this fall.
It’s the race between Senator Marco Rubio, the incumbent Republican, and his Democratic challenger, Representative Val Demings and a new poll shows it could be a close race.
The new poll gives the plain-spoken, no-nonsense former police chief from Orlando a glimmer of hope.
Marco Rubio of Miami is finishing his second term in the Senate and shooting for his third term in November.
He had this to say about the challenger: “Look, I’ve always known my opponent for the senate would be a far-left liberal democrat.”
A new poll from Mason-Dixon shows Rubio, as expected, in the lead. It’s Rubio 49 percent and Demings at 42 percent with 9 percent undecided.
Sean D. Foreman, a Barry University professor, said that looking at the poll and Rubio being under 50 percent gives Democrats “a chance.”
“But it’s not a big chance because he’s still about 10 points ahead of her and not a lot of people know Demings,” Foreman pointed out.
Demings raised her profile as a house manager in the 2nd trump impeachment . . . earning high marks for being poised and tough.
Rubio is only 50-years-old but seems to have been around forever, compiling a strong record as a conservative but without a major achievement.
After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre, Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter, Jaime, was killed at Parkland, and others begged Rubio to champion tougher gun laws. He didn’t.
Rubio was, however, a champion of the crackdown on Cuba under President Donald Trump and he’s also been a strong supporter of Israel.
Demings regularly appears on MSNBC and told news host Lawrence O’Donnell during an interview that: “What we have learned is that Marco Rubio will make his mouth say anything.” Rubio favors appearances on FOX News.
Their television debates in the fall could sway undecided voters.
“I hate to oversimplify and say independents will decide this race, but that’s the way it is looking right now,” Foreman said.
But the determining factor as to who will win the race could very well be President Joe Biden. His approval rating in Florida is dismal at just 40 percent. If it stays that low through the fall, it will be almost impossible for Demings to win.