Marco Rubio Crushes Opponents in Florida GOP Primary
Incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (C, 77%) claimed victory in Tuesday night’s Florida Republican primary for U.S. Senate, crushing challengers Carlos Beruff, Ernie Rivera, and Dwight Young.
The Orlando Sentinel called the race for Rubio with just over half of all precincts reporting. Rubio claimed upwards of 70 percent of the vote.
After his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Rubio initially insisted he would not seek reelection to the United States Senate and, come January, he would be a “private citizen.”
But as a cluttered primary field battled each other without a clear frontrunner emerging, Republican party officials, including GOP nominee for president Donald Trump, began to push for Rubio to enter the race and clear the field.
When it became clear Rubio was set to enter the race, Rep. David Jolly (F, 29%) dropped out to focus on his congressional seat in Florida’s 13th District.
Rubio announced his change of heart and candidacy in June, claiming the stakes were too high for him to sit out.
“Control of the Senate may very well come down to the race in Florida,” he said. “That means the future of the Supreme Court will be determined by the Florida Senate seat. It means the future of the disastrous Iran nuclear deal will be determined by the Florida Senate seat. It means the direction of our country’s fiscal and economic policies will be determined by this Senate seat. The stakes for our nation could not be higher.”
After Rubio’s announcement, Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ron DeSantis (A, 90%) also ended his senate candidacy to seek reelection in Florida’s 6th District.
Fresh off his presidential campaign, Rubio entered the senate primary with a massive fundraising advantage, spending nearly $50 million. His next closest opponent, businessman Carlos Beruff, spent approximately $8 million during his campaign.
Rubio will face Democratic nominee Patrick Murphy in November. (For more from the author of “Marco Rubio Crushes Opponents in Florida GOP Primary” please click HERE)
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