Democrats grasp for Senate seat in Florida, where Trump, GOP rule |
Democrats grasp for Senate seat in Florida, where Trump, GOP rule
A Republican president’s approval ratings are stuck in the mid-30s as Americans grapple with an unpopular war with Iran that has raised gas prices above $4 per gallon.
In past midterm cycles, that would lay the groundwork for Democrats to feel optimistic about picking up a Senate seat in Florida, especially against a GOP incumbent in Sen. Ashley Moody who was appointed to the role and is facing her first election test for the Senate.
Yet prognosticators are not giving the Democrats good odds, even with a candidate like Lt. Col Alexander Vindman, whose role in President Trump’s first impeachment made him a national figure and whose early fundraising has been strong.
The non-partisan Cook Political Report rates the seat as safely Republican. The University of Virginia’s Sabato Crystal Ball has it a tick lower, at “likely Republican.”
While Democrats are increasingly optimistic about their chances of reclaiming the Senate majority, after winning four Senate seats, many in the party see Florida as a bridge too far.
“No chance,” Democratic mega donor John Morgan, who resides in the Sunshine State, told The Hill.
“Florida is still Trump country,” he said. “…Florida is redder than Indiana.”
The Ukrainian-born Vindman has raised nearly $8.19 million as of the end of March, and closed the quarter with more than $6 million cash on hand. But he still faces an uphill climb, said Jessica Taylor, the Senate and governors editor at The Cook Political Report.
“Certainly he’s raised an impressive amount of money but Florida is a massively expensive state,” Taylor said. She added that Moody, while she was appointed to the Senate by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has a history of winning statewide elections as Florida’s attorney general from 2019 to 2025.
In addition to that, “the registration edge is just so........