Democrats Went ‘On Offense’ in Florida and Still Lost to Rick Scott

Sen. Rick Scott will return to Washington, where he’s running to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as the top Republican in the Senate.

Rick Scott

Mike Stewart/AP

Rick Scott is projected to beat former Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida’s Senate race, despite Democrats’ hopes that ballot questions and new political vulnerabilities — including rifts with leadership in his own party — on Scott’s end would lift their candidate.

The Associated Press called the race for Scott on Tuesday, and the senator’s reelection points to the party’s ever-growing influence over the state, which was once a battleground. In the land of Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and culture wars, Democrats don’t seem to be gaining any steam.

But Democrats believed this year would be Scott’s hardest reelection campaign yet, in part because he had gotten into trouble with his own party and was attacked by his opponent over his proposal in 2022 to sunset all federal legislation after five years.