(Bloomberg) -- Florida Senator Rick Scott won election to a second term, fending off Democratic challenger who sought to break Republicans’ hold on the state.
Scott was leading US Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by 55.4% to 43.1% with 87% of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press. His margin of victory topped his last race in 2018, when he bested Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson by a razor-thin 0.2 percentage points, or roughly 10,000 votes.
Scott’s success underscores the stranglehold the GOP has on Florida. Once the quintessential swing state, Republican voters now outnumber Democrats by 1 million, giving GOP candidates an edge in a state that’s also home to former President Donald Trump. The former president won Florida in the presidential race, according to AP.
Democrats held out hope that Mucarsel-Powell could flip the seat, and opinion polls showed her within as little as a percentage point of Scott. But she was up against one of the wealthiest members of Congress, who built his fortune in health care and spent over $14 million to out-raise his rival.
“It would be hard for a Democrat to win a Senate seat, especially in a presidential election when Trump is on the ticket,” said Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida.
The 71-year-old senator, a vocal China hawk, called for stricter border policy and more oversight over government programs like Social Security and Medicare. While he’s closely aligned with Trump, Scott was forced to quickly respond and defend Puerto Rico after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called the US territory a “floating island of garbage” at the former president’s Madison Square Garden rally.
--With assistance from Alicia Diaz.
(Updates with results in second paragraph, additional background)
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