Patrick Murphy emerged as the victor of the Democratic U.S. Senate Primary, besting fellow Congressman Alan Grayson who has been dogged by domestic violence allegations from his ex-wife.
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Tuesday’s outcome was what Democratic leaders have wanted for almost 18 months.
Keith was never a serious factor, lost in Grayson’s progressive-champion shadow and shut out by Murphy’s nearly complete accumulation of mainline party support.
“In the Senate, I will fight for you every single day”, he added.
Both Rubio and Murphy have been girding for this showdown.
Grayson had challenged that moderation as a weakness, and all along sought to depict the battle as a true progressive Democrat – himself – versus a Democrat of questionable Democratic values -Murphy. He continued that line of attack on Tuesday.
Known for his sharp criticisms of Trump, including calling him “a con man” during the presidential primary campaign, Rubio sent a video to the Republican National Convention in which he said “the time for fighting each other is over”. He fired back at Rubio, alluding to the incumbent’s statements Tuesday that he would not commit to serving a full term.
With 82 percent of the vote in, the incumbent congresswoman was leading college professor Tim Canova, 57-43 percent, and was declared the victor by the AP. Voters are also deciding the Democratic and Republican nominees for U.S. Senate.
“With a vacancy on the Supreme Court, with the potential that Chuck Schumer of NY will be the majority leader. As you know, after my race ended in March for the presidency I was prepared to become a private citizen”, Rubio told supporters after the result.
Rubio and Murphy, a U.S. House member from Jupiter, easily defeated primary challengers Tuesday in the race for Rubio’s seat. Florida’s Senate seat is among nine that’s considered a toss-up.
“He earned the worst voting record for any Florida senator in 50 years”, Murphy said shortly after polls closed.
Despite the high stakes, this was not the race Rubio expected to be in. This would be his first elected office, but he’s been active in politics as a donor for years.
In addition to the constant nudging from Republicans, the handful of GOP Senate candidates running for Rubio’s seat vowed to drop out of the race if he hopped in. But after spending $8 million of his own money and going nowhere in the polls, he essentially shut down his campaign ahead of the primary.
But schoolyard name-calling aside, the truth for Trump is that even though he handily beat Rubio on his own turf in the Florida primary, he will need him to help deliver in November. But Beruff never gained traction. He won 81,842 Republican votes in Lee and Collier counties, about 71 percent.
With Rubio the apparent front-runner in the race, clamoring for more debates is a departure from the usual campaign playbook.
But Rubio, a Republican star player who endured the wrath of Donald Trump on the Republican presidential debate stage, is not a typical candidate when it comes to his rhetorical skills. That spurred one of the state’s most heavily contested congressional election years.
“With Hillary Clinton, we would have four more years of the same failed economic policies that have left us with a stagnant economy”, Rubio said. Please see our terms of service for more information.
Republicans now outnumber Democrats 17-10 in the state’s congressional delegation. But a series of self-inflicted résumé gaffes uncovered by the Herald/Times altered that equation.
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Grayson disputed the accusation but it wasn’t enough to keep him competitive against Murphy.
