DORAL, Fla. – Congresswoman Val Demings in Doral, hosting a town hall Tuesday, unveiled a fresh line of attack in her bid to unseat two-term Senator Marco Rubio.
Demings’ latest lob at Rubio says that he co-sponsored legislation that would roll back provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed nearly two months ago.
Rubio hopes to reverse sections of the bill allowing Medicare to negotiate — and lower — the cost of some of the most expensive prescription drugs.
The provisions also cap out-of-pocket annual expenses for seniors at $2,000.
Demings told the town hall attendees: “I cannot get the seniors’ faces out of my mind who told me their stories, and to be able to vote for legislation that would help them to be able afford the medication that they need. "
Demings hopes the new messaging may offer her an opening in a race in which she continues to trail.
Data released by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy shows Demings behind Rubio 41 to 47 percent. Another 2 percent say they plan to vote for another candidate, while 10 percent are undecided.
Rubio struck back Tuesday saying that his bill would protect future drug innovation and research and that Democrats have rejected his proposal to cap insulin prices at $10 for low-income households.
His campaign released a statement: “While Senator Rubio has taken real steps to lower the cost of drugs while preserving life-saving treatments, all Val Demings and Washington Democrats seem interested in doing is getting an election year talking point.”