Rubio easily won the Republican nomination to retain his seat and will be challenged by Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who defeated Congressman Alan Grayson in Tuesday’s Senate primary.
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Rubio, who lost his bid to represent Republicans in the race for US president, will also go up against a Democratic congressman after defeating millionaire homebuilder Carlos Beruff in the Florida primary.
Murphy, 33, of Palm Beach Gardens, crushed U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Orlando and lawyer Pam Keith of Miami in what had been a cutthroat primary campaign battle, preparing the victor for what likely will be another cutthroat general election battle this fall.
The GOP primary victory marked the latest turn in a tumultuous year for Rubio, who began 2016 as one of the front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination before being swept away by the wave of support for real-estate developer Donald Trump.
Incumbents prevailed in some of the most closely watched primary contests yesterday.
In July, Wasserman Schultz resigned as head of the Democratic National Committee after emails were leaked suggesting members of the DNC favored former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Sanders instead of maintaining a neutral role in the presidential nominating race.
It sets up a tight race with Rubio in November, who is now narrow favorite to hold the state and could prevent Democrats netting the four seats nationwide they may need to swing control of the US Senate.
The incumbent won 57 percent of the vote to Mr. Canova’s 43 percent with 56 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press. But in June, Rubio abruptly reversed course under pressure from national Republicans afraid that the seat was in jeopardy – perhaps along with the Senate majority.
Rubio challenged Murphy to a series of six debates, the same number as in Rubio’s first Senate run in 2010. That could leave the door open for another run at the presidency in 2020 or even a cabinet post in a Trump administration should the mogul defeat Clinton.
Setting a tough tone for the November general election, Murphy zeroed in on Rubio’s voting record during remarks to supporters. Patrick Murphy – challenging him to six debates.
On the Democratic side, Reps.
Primary night was a big night for Marco Rubio and his supporters.
Since before bowing out of the presidential primary, Sanders has used his substantial online fundraising prowess to benefit Canova, a first-time candidate, raising hundreds of thousands for his long shot campaign.
Murphy, right, visited the Tampa Bay area several times over the past few weeks in an effort to woo the area’s voters.
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Roger Wicker, R-Miss., blasted Murphy in a statement congratulating Rubio for his victory. Republicans now hold majorities in both chambers. The revelations did little damage to Murphy in the primary because his chief opponent, Grayson, struggled under the scrutiny of an on-going Congressional ethics investigation into offshore hedge funds he managed while in office and allegations that emerged in July by his former wife that Grayson had physically abused her during their previous 25-year marriage. The GOP now holds a total of 54 seats, while Democrats and two independents who usually vote with them have 46.
