MIAMI — U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is on the campaign trail as she hopes to retain her seat in a November special election.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed the fellow Republican ― then the state’s attorney general ― to fill the seat after former Sen. Marco Rubio became U.S. Secretary of State. Whoever wins the race would fill the rest of his term, scheduled to expire in 2029.
Local 10 News spoke with Moody on Wednesday as she visited the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in Miami, exactly one year after she was sworn in.
“I’m still a mom of a school-aged kid,” Moody said. “And so I go into some of these hearings and take some of these votes and they’re meaningful to me because I’m learning (about) things that are affecting them right now. And so I think that drives me every day.”
Moody said Wednesday that she believes “every single person in this state should feel the momentum of being a Floridian right now.”
The field of candidates hasn’t been set yet; candidates have until April 24 to qualify.
One of Moody’s potential Democratic challengers, former Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins, sees an opening, saying voters are tired of President Donald Trump.
“I think Floridians are just exhausted by the politics that they’re seeing, politics that are just constantly punishing people instead of solving real problems, and they’re sick of those culture wars, and they want people with confidence, with stability,” Jenkins said.
She thinks “Trump fatigue” could lead to a pathway for Democrats in what has become an increasingly red state.
“Trumpism felt like noise for a really long time, but now it’s showing up on grocery receipts, in your rent that’s rising, your healthcare costs,” Jenkins said. “There’s constant chaos around us all the time, tariffs, attacks on Social Security and Medicare, and all of this is directly impacting Florida’s families. And you know, Floridians can feel this in their wallets and that’s pain that cuts across all party lines.”
Jenkins pointed to recent Democratic wins across the country and in Florida.
“We just had a recent win for the Miami mayor,” she said. “We’ve had state House wins, Senate seats flipping, and many of those seats have shifted to the left by double digits.”
Another Democratic candidate, Hector Mujica, released a statement to Local 10 News about the race:
Moody, meanwhile, said she is trying “to block out all the noise and stay focused on the mission” of “doing work for the people.”
The governor’s appointment offered her the chance to build a bigger statewide profile heading into the race as the incumbent in a field that includes at least one other Republican primary challenger, a candidate with no party affiliation and a growing list of Democrats vying to unseat her.
“It is a big thing to say, ‘Please send me as your representative,’” she told Local 10 News. “I want to make sure that government is working for you and anybody (who) puts themselves out there for elected office, I commend them for doing that.”
Resource: Candidate financial totals
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