MIAMI – On Nov. 5, 34 out of the 100 U.S. Senate seats will be up for election. One is in Florida, and its outcome could affect the national partisan balance.
Five candidates are challenging the Republican incumbent, Rick Scott, a lawyer and former healthcare executive. The former Florida governor and U.S. Navy veteran has served in the U.S. Senate since Jan. 3, 2019.
Scott’s term ends in 2025, but he is running for re-election and he plans a run to become the next Republican leader of the U.S. Senate.
“We have got to win this election and we have got to get a majority,” Scott, 71, recently said at a campaign event.
Two of the five candidates running against are affiliated with a political party and three are not. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is a Democrat, and Feena Bonoan is a Libertarian. The others are Ben Everidge, Tuan “TQ” Nguyen, and Howard Knepper.
“He hasn’t worked for us and that is why I know that we can win in November,” Mucarsel-Powell, 53, recently said.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Scott and Mucarsel-Powell had the most campaign contributions.
As of Sept. 30, Scott reported $34 million in total receipts and $1.89 million in cash on hand. Mucarsel-Powell reported $27 million and $3.99 million in cash on hand.
“We have seen some funding coming from the national party,” Mucarsel-Powell said.
Mucarsel-Powell, born in Ecuador and living in Miami, and Scott, born in Illinois and living in Naples have accused each other of being extremists.
“My opponent is a socialist. She supports open borders, she wants to defund the police,” Scott said.
Mucarsel-Powell disagrees. She is a former U.S. House representative for Florida’s 26th Congressional District and served on the U.S. House Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure committees.
“A lot of the challenges that families across our state are facing are struggles and challenges that we have faced in my family,” Mucarsel-Powell said during a recent stop at UpperTEA in Miami’s Model City.
Mucarsel-Powell accused Scott of not being interested in protecting Social Security and Medicare. Rick Scott disagreed and said Democrats haven’t backed up a proposal to benefit couples struggling to have children.
“I have a resolution up there that says we need to support IVF,” Scott said. “I can’t get one Democrat to sign on.”
During a recent rally in Hialeah Gardens, Scott added that he opposes Amendment 4, which would limit government interference with abortion.
“I am pro-life,” Scott said.
Bonoan, 40, of Jacksonville, is a U.S. Navy veteran. Everidge is a fundraising and legislative consultant with congressional staff experience. He organized the Democratic-Republican Party, or DRP, to help organize moderate voters.
Nguyen, who fled the Vietnamese communist regime in 1997, is an engineer who highlights his opposition to authoritarian regimes. Knepper, who was born in Philadelphia and lives in Miami, has experience in property management.