“Rubio is faring better than Trump and has a roughly five-point polling edge over Murphy”, Sabato wrote.
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With 87.5 percent of precincts reporting, Rubio was leading developer Carlos Beruff by roughly 53 percentage points — carrying nearly 71.9 percent of the vote to Beruff’s 18.7 percent. Two other Democratic contenders, real estate investor Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, and lawyer Reginald Luster, gained little attention. Congressman Alan Grayson says he won’t back Murphy in November. The rest of the votes were divided among two other candidates. Murphy has repeatedly pointed out that Rubio now supports a man he called a conman who can’t be trusted.
There is evidence that the presidential run has taken a toll on Rubio.
“Senator Marco Rubio is the embodiment of the worst of Washington”, Murphy said. If the race remains close, Democrats will want a chance to win Florida and damage Rubio’s chances of running for president in 2020.
“No one can make that commitment because you don’t know what the future’s going to hold in your life, personally or politically”, Rubio replied.
For Murphy to win, right now he has to start building up name recognition throughout the state, said 10News political expert Dr. Lars Hafner.
“I am asking you to join me in committing to six media-sponsored live debates between now and Election Day”.
Another big-name politician, U.S. Senator John McCain, was being challenged by a Tea Party conservative in Arizona’s Republican nominating vote.
Neither Murphy nor Rubio debated their primary opponents. “Floridians deserve better than Marco Rubio, and that difference will be on display in the upcoming debates, including the Leadership Florida debate on October 26”, said Murphy.
Mr Rubio was a rising Republican star whose presidential bid fizzled in March after he was thrashed by Mr Trump in the Florida primary.
Rubio made a last-minute decision to seek another term and almost cleared what was a crowded Republican field that formed when Rubio said he wouldn’t seek another term.
That chased away every major Republican opponent except Beruff, who had never run for elected office. Now, as McCain and Rubio seek reelection, they have a hurdle of their own – Donald Trump.
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. Murphy was also dogged by questions about whether he had exaggerated aspects of his biography.
“I cried three days after the presidential campaign”, said Wallace.
The general election in Florida, the largest swing state in a presidential year, is expected to be critical to Democratic hopes to recapture the majority in the Senate.
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Rubio issued a statement explaining his decision, citing a sense of duty and a desire to help the Republicans maintain control of the Senate. Marco Rubio, who just a few months ago vowed to quit politics, managed to hold on to his seat – though it may have been a bittersweet victory, given reports previous year that Rubio “hates” working as a senator.
