Re-Election - More Water for Rubio

 

Early in 2016, Senator Rubio hadn’t even decided that he would run for re-election in the Senate. Instead, he was chasing a bigger goal: President of the United States of America. But, after a loss in the primaries in his home state of Florida to would-be president Donald Trump, Rubio would decide to forgo his presidential bid. It wasn’t until late June that Rubio would decide to run for reelection in the senate.

The Florida senate seat was a hot commodity at the time as one of nine battleground races in 2016. Senator Rubio won, acquiring 52% (4,835,191) votes in comparison to the Democratic candidate Patrick Murphy, who had 44.3% (4,122,088) votes. Rubio held his ground against 11 challengers, most of which accumulated less than one percent of the total vote. This win came as an influential role in Republican control of the senate. 

 

Reelection status

Senator Rubio plans on keeping his place in office and the predictions are saying that he will. According to a Mason-Dixon poll, Rubio leads his Democrat Challenger, Val Demings, by 7 percent. Additionally, Rubio has raised $5.2 million with another $10.5 million in his bank. I personally believe more will vote for him as Covid restrictions begin to subside and Biden approval continues to drop. I would argue that the 2022 election is his to lose. 

Here is a link to a great video discussing likelihood of re-election: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGxnWZMiNN4

2020 Election

 

Florida Republicans had big wins in the 2020 election. Donald Trump won 51.2% (5,668,731) of the votes, while Biden won 47.9% (5,297,045) of the votes. As always, Florida was a big battle ground state that was necessary to win if Trump were to win his bid for re-election. In the House, Republicans won 16 of the 27 seats open. Florida has continued on its trend of Republican favorability.

 

Major Issues

 

Senator Rubio’s biggest challenge is his on and off relationship with former President Donald Trump. During the 2020/2021 mishaps and riots, Marco Rubio did not support the President and what he had to say. This may be detrimental in his re-election bid. If Donald Trump is to gain ground as a potential candidate for another shot at becoming president, those who support him may turn against Rubio. It is a deadly cycle of whether you support and extreme Trump or support the republican party.

Another issue may be found in recent Covid-19 measures. While Marco Rubio has largely been in favor lifting restrictions, there are many Floridians who disagree with removing such measures. This may give Val Demings an opportunity to pounce on Rubio’s beliefs.