JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Despite a late pledge from National Democrats to put enough money into Florida’s Senate race to make it competitive, Democrats on the ground have felt like they’re on their own.
The race was always a long shot, given how red the state has turned in recent years. And Democrats admit that their Senate candidate, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, will need a miracle to win.Mucarsel-Powell’s campaign has been begging for more attention from national Democrats, arguing in mid-October that the race was a toss-up and all they need to win “is a significant cash infusion over the last three weeks.”
Florida Democrats haven’t won a statewide race since 2018, when current state party Chair Nikki Fried won her commissioner of agriculture race. The state party has been shouting about its smaller wins to try to attract investment. They point to Democrat Donna Deegan as an example, who won the 2023 mayoral race in the swing Duval County after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won by 12 points the year before. But winning a mayoral race hasn’t translated to serious cash or attention up and down the ballot.