Republican Sen. Rick Scott will win second term in Florida, CNN projects

By Steve Contorno, CNN

(CNN) — Republican Sen. Rick Scott will win a second term in Florida, CNN projects, defeating Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in a race that demonstrated the strength of the GOP in a state once considered one of the country’s premier political battlegrounds.

With a return to the Senate next year assured, Scott is positioned to wage his uphill bid to succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican leader in the new Congress. The secret-ballot vote is set to take place sometime after the election.

Scott unsuccessfully challenged McConnell for his leadership position in 2022, as the Florida senator was coming off an underwhelming turn in charge of his party’s Senate campaign operation that cycle. But Scott’s odds of succeeding McConnell this time could benefit from his close relationship with his state’s most famous resident: former President Donald Trump.

Scott’s victory over Mucarsel-Powell caps what ultimately was the least competitive race of a political career defined in part by exceptionally hard-fought contests. Scott narrowly won two terms as governor by about 1 percentage point in 2010 and 2014 and then unseated Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in 2018 by 10,0000 votes out of 8.2 million ballots cast — one of the closest statewide elections in Florida history.

To win those races, Scott, a former health care executive and one of the country’s wealthiest elected officials, dipped deeply into his personal fortune, including a $63 million investment in his first Senate campaign. This time, though, he spent far less of his own money as Mucarsel-Powell, a former South Florida congresswoman, struggled to fundraise.

Democrats made a late play for the seat as other paths to maintaining their Senate majority grew increasingly tenuous. In September, they announced a multimillion-dollar advertising push in Florida, a token investment in a historically expensive state to compete.

There was hope, though, that Mucarsel-Powell could build on the enthusiasm surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’ entrance into the race. Democrats remained optimistic, too, that ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana and expand abortion access in the state could give their Senate nominee a boost. Mucarsel-Powell campaigned aggressively on abortion in a state where it is now illegal for women to undergo the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, unless their life is at risk or they’re the victim of rape or incest.

However, Scott benefited greatly from a favorable shift in the state’s political makeup since he first entered the Senate. Six years ago, registered Democrats still outnumbered Republicans in Florida. Now, the GOP has a one million-voter advantage in the state, a deficit that has made it structurally difficult for Democrats to compete.

After running neck and neck in all of his previous races, Scott never trailed Mucarsel-Powell, though the race certainly appeared to tighten in the closing months.

Scott’s victory guarantees that Republicans will continue to hold every statewide office in Florida for at least two more years. In a second term, Scott has said he would prioritize putting term limits on members of Congress, shuttering federal agencies and building a wall along the US-Mexico border.

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