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Former Rep. Mucarsel-Powell, Sen. Scott make final push in what’s projected to be one of Florida’s tightest races

Rick Scott and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell are locked in a tight US senate race in Florida. (Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

One of the most closely monitored races in Florida this election is the race for the U.S. Senate, in which former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is challenging first-term Republican Senator Rick Scott.

RELATED | Florida will vote on marijuana, abortion in an election that will test GOP’s dominance

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Scott, a former Florida governor, easily defeated two challengers in the Republican primary, while former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell emerged from a four-way Democratic primary. Joining them on the November ballot will be Libertarian Feena Bonoan, and two other candidates running without party affiliation, Ben Everidge and Tuan “TQ” Nguyen.

This is projected to be one of the tightest races of this election, with many polls showing Scott leading narrowly over Mucarsel-Powell.

According to data from AdImpact, which tracks spending on advertising by political campaigns and their surrogates, Republicans have outspent Democrats on Florida’s U.S. Senate race by roughly a 4-to-1 margin through Sept. 11, $12.7 million to $3.2 million.

RELATED | Democrats claiming Florida Senate seat is in play haven’t put money behind the effort to make it so

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell

Mucarsel-Powell is among many Democrats trying to hold onto far more Senate seats than Republicans this year.

She was the first Ecuadorian-American and South American immigrant elected to Congress. Now, she’s the only Latina running for a U.S. Senate seat.

FILE - Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a campaign event before launching a 75 stop tour across Florida, Aug. 28, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Mucarsel-Powell’s top three issues include expanding and protecting economic opportunities, protecting reproductive freedoms, and preserving Social Security and Medicare.

Rick Scott

Scott served two terms as governor, winning each with less than 50% of the vote. In 2018, he defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in a race decided by 0.2 percentage points. But Florida politics changed. The last time Scott was on the ballot, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the state. Republicans now have a million-voter advantage.

Scott, one of the richest members of Congress, pumped millions of dollars of his own money into the race, as he has with his previous three elections. Far outspent, and with little money coming in from national Democrats until the last few weeks of the race, Murcarsel-Powell struggled to gain attention.

Scott said back in August that if he gets to the second term, he hopes to address the national debt and inflation.

FILE - Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. speaks during a town-hall style meeting, Sept. 3, 2024, in Braselton, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File) (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

News4JAX sent a questionnaire to each U.S. Senate candidate asking about their background and their views on several issues. Scott didn’t respond, but you can click here to read the full story with the candidates who responded.

MORE | Sen. Rick Scott meets with volunteers in Jacksonville ahead of primary, encourages people to vote

On Election Day, Mucarsel-Powell will host an election night party in Miami.

Meanwhile, Scott is expected to host a couple of rallies, including in Jacksonville, Tuesday morning ahead of his election night party at the Hyatt Regency in Bonita Springs, where he is expected to speak after the race is called.


About the Author
Marcela Camargo headshot

Marcela joined News4JAX in 2023. She grew up in Mexico and eventually moved to California to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist. Now, she is a proud San Diego State University alumna who has many years of experience in TV and digital journalism.

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