Murphy will now face incumbent U.S. Senator Marco Rubio for the seat.
Advertisement
Rubio, who ended his presidential campaign after losing the Florida primary to Donald Trump in March, had insisted he wouldn’t seek re-election to the Senate.
Republican U.S. senators John McCain and Marco Rubio won their party’s nominations on Tuesday to seek re-election in Arizona and Florida in November, as both of the high profile politicians defeated insurgent challengers. He was joined by former Florida senator and Gov. He is seen as a Democrat who appeals to moderate Republicans and Independents.
This year’s primary turnout could top ones held in 2012 and 2014- a sign that competitive races for Congress and the Florida Legislature could be driving up turnout this time around. Tim Canova saw a boost in support and financial help leading up to the primaries as Wasserman-Schultz found herself embroiled in a scandal over how she handled the Democratic National Committee.
Wasserman Schultz jumped to an early lead over Canova in a primary colored by leaked emails revealing that DNC officials had worked against Sanders to favor Hillary Clinton in the presidential race.
While Grayson has more consistently voted for Democratic priorities and Obama’s agenda, many party leaders thought he was unelectable because of his brash demeanor.
Elsewhere in the state, Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., facing a 22-count federal corruption indictment as well as a redrawn district, became the fifth House incumbent to lose a primary this cycle.
Both men may have challenges winning over their former competitors though.
Murphy wasted little time turning his acceptance speech into a blistering of Rubio.
Many of those races have been marked by the familiar national dynamic pitting the party establishment vs. insurgents.
“If Patrick Murphy wants to be a U.S. Senator, it doesn’t matter how politically connected, wealthy, or influential his family is”.
In other races, former U.S. Re.
Trump, who faces Clinton in the November 8 presidential election, has endorsed both McCain and Rubio in their re-election bids even though he has rocky relations with both.
He explained that his decision to run centered on maintaining Republican control of the Senate.
While the similarity is that both Rubio and Murphy skipped debates with their primary rivals and both went on to huge wins, the former Republican presidential candidate beat Carlos Beruff by nearly 54 points on Tuesday and Murphy overpowered fellow Congressman Alan Grayson by 41 points.
On the Democratic side, the battle between Mr. Grayson and Mr. Murphy looked like it would turn into a proxy fight between progressive and centrist Democrats.
Rubio will also have to make a convincing pitch for why Florida voters should send him back to Washington when he’s not willing to commit to a full, six-year term. But after spending $8 million of his own money and going nowhere in the polls in a head-to-head matchup with Rubio, Beruff essentially shut down his campaign ahead of the primary.
Advertisement
A similar night of consolidation for the Democratic mainstream means Rubio will face the Florida congressman Patrick Murphy, who comfortably beat off his party’s leftwing challenger Alan Grayson on Tuesday night.
