Rubio-Demings 2022 showdown could become most expensive Senate race ever

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Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fl., on Dr. Fauci’s evolving statements on COVID and the push for critical race theory.

A day after she launched a much-anticipated 2022 Democratic challenge against Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Rep. Val Demings spotlighted a surge in fundraising.

Sources close to Deming’s campaign said that Orlando’s first female police chief-turned-congresswoman hauled in roughly $1 million in the day after she declared her Senate candidacy.

“The outpouring of support I’ve received in the past few days has been humbling. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Demings tweeted on Friday.

Democrats touted that the fundraising figure was an early sign of Demings’ momentum. But the candidate needs to quickly build her war chest, as Rubio had nearly $4 million in his campaign coffers as of the end of March. 

FILE – In this June 10, 2020, file photo Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., asks questions during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on proposed changes to police practices and accountability on Capitol Hill in Washington. Demings is running for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s Florida seat. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP, File)

Demings’ campaign cash surge is also a sign of just how expensive the burgeoning Florida Senate battle – which could be one of the contests to decide which party controls the chamber – will be in a state with nearly 22 million people spread out over 10 media markets.

“Both parties are going to invest heavily in Florida,” University of Florida political science professor Michael McDonald noted. “It could be one of the most expensive U.S. Senate races in history given the trajectory that we’ve seen in increasing amount of money flowing into elections.”

McDonald emphasized that “Florida really is the most competitive of the largest states and it has multiple media markets. It’s a very geographically spread out state, with a panhandle and a long peninsula. You can’t blanket the state from one central large city.”

The total price tag – campaign and outside spending – for Rubio’s 2016 reelection victory over then-Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy was nearly $110 million, a huge sum at the time. But the Sunshine State’s 2018 Senate race, when then-Republican Gov. Rick Scott edged out incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, was nearly double the cost, with roughly $205 million spent by the candidates, parties, and outside groups.

In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Demings acknowledged she’s in for a “tough fight” against Rubio, whose parents immigrated from Cuba. 

But she called out the senator for voting against coronavirus relief aid this year, which included another round of stimulus checks. She said she’d stand up against laws that suppress voting and discriminate against transgender youth and would vote to eliminate the Senate filibuster to protect “basic rights.

Fox News’ Marisa Schultz contributed to this story 

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