Florida Sen. Rick Scott seeks reelection with an eye toward top GOP leadership post

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is hoping being reelected to a second term will put him in a position to earn a Senate leadership role, while former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell seeks an upset victory that could help her party maintain its razor-thin control of the chamber.

Scott hopes to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is stepping down as the GOP leader. A win for him would also reaffirm the strength of the Republican Party in the state despite ballot measures on abortion rights and recreational marijuana l egalization that Democrats hope will drive up turnout.

Mucarsel-Powell is running two years after Democrats lost all five statewide seats on the ballot in Republican landslides. She was elected to represent a Miami district in 2018 and was the first Ecuadorian American and South American-born congressional member. She lost her reelection to U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez in 2020.

Four in 10 Florida voters said the economy and jobs is the top issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationally, including more than 4,700 voters in Florida. About 2 in 10 Florida voters said immigration is the most pressing issue, and about 1 in 10 named abortion.

Scott has a large fundraising advantage, including millions of his personal wealth he’s pumped into the campaign, in a state that has shifted more firmly Republican. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee insists Scott is vulnerable, but national Democrats were slow to invest in Florida, one of the most expensive states to buy campaign ads.

Scott needed a recount to win his first Senate election, but that was when Democrats had an advantage in voter registration. This year, Republicans outnumber Democrats by about a million voters, and Scott’s victory came two years after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio won in landslides.

Murcarsel-Powell is hoping Vice President Kamala Harris lifts her and other Democrats on the ballot.

This year, Scott also is facing dents in his political resume, including his failure to earn a GOP majority two years ago after leading the National Republican Senatorial Committee and his losing challenge to upend McConnell from Senate leadership in a 37-10 vote. He also was nationally criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for a proposal he had to sunset federal programs every five years, which initially had no exceptions for popular entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

Scott has focused his message on the economy and rising household prices during President Joe Biden’s administration. He also has spent months supporting former President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, despite it taking him about a year after Trump announced his campaign to endorse him.

__

Associated Press reporters David Fischer in Miami and Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.

Stephany Matat, The Associated Press