Marco Rubio’s presidential aspirations and insistence that he was done with the Senate didn’t hurt him with GOP voters, now it’s time to see if the rest of Florida will be as forgiving as he seeks a second term.
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After devoting much of the 2016 election cycle running for president, Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took a big step on Tuesday toward retaining his seat after being projected to easily win the state’s Republican primary.
Democrats hope to gain seats in Florida’s heavily Republican House delegation after court-mandated redistricting chipped away the advantages of some incumbents. A Quinnipiac University poll taken before he announced his presidential campaign showed a 54 percent job approval with voters, compared to 35 percent disapproval.
Rubio and Murphy were already focusing on each other before the primary, with Rubio saying Murphy is a privileged son of a millionaire who has never earned anything himself, and Murphy saying Rubio cares more about political ambitions than the state.
Ward had made McCain’s age and vitality an issue, questioning his ability to serve another six-year term.
They both quickly tacked out of primary mode, looking toward November, wasting no time hammering each other during their respective victory speeches.
Democratic party leaders felt Murphy, a former Republican, has the best chance in the general election.
To counter that, MacManus said Murphy campaign’s strategy “is to try to tie Trump around Rubio’s neck”.
According to the current Real Clear Politics average, Rubio holds a 5.7 percent lead over Murphy in a head-to-head match-up.
Arpaio will face Democratic challenger Paul Penzone during the fall in what’s believed to be his toughest campaign in six terms as Maricopa County’s top lawman.
But thanks to some seriously good negotiating skills by Mitch McConnell and team, on Tuesday they’re celebrating Rubio’s primary win instead of that of a lesser-known, lesser-funded candidate. He is seen as a Democrat who appeals to moderate Republicans and Independents.
Rubio won 72-19 percent with 99 percent in over developer Carlos Beruff, who spent more than $8 million of his own money on the race. Murphy has repeatedly pointed out that Rubio now supports a man he called a conman who can’t be trusted. But since he returned to the Senate race in June, he has strongly pushed for electing Trump president – and Trump, in turn, has endorsed Rubio.
In August, Rubio said he would be open to campaigning alongside Trump, while also refusing to answer the Orlando Sentinel editorial board’s question about whether Trump was qualified to be president.
In other races, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown lost a primary as she faces felony fraud charges. In House races, only five incumbents have lost, in most cases because they were under indictment or their districts were redrawn.
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Veteran Senator John McCain of Arizona was projected to handily win his contest against a more conservative candidate and advance to the November election. Several races will essentially be decided in the primary and Florida will eventually send at least seven new House members to Washington. On Tuesday they easily dispatched their Republican primary opponents.
