Campaign Literature Archive - Nov. 8, 2022 Florida U.S. Senate

Main Page « 2022 Senate Races « Florida Senate

FLORIDA

Nov. 8, 2022 U.S. Senate

	Gov.	Sen.3	Sen.1
2022	x
2021
2020
2019
2018	x		x
2017
2016		x
2015
2014	x
2013
2012			x
2011
2010	x	x
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989

+Marco Rubio (R) i	4,474,847	57.68%
Val Demings (D)	3,201,522	41.27%
Dennis Misigoy (L)	32,177	0.41%
Steven B. Grant (NPA)	31,816	0.41%
Tuan TQ Nguyen (NPA)	17,385	0.22%
write-ins (4)	267
	7,758,014

Voter Registration: 14,503,978. Turnout: 7,796,916.
Plurality: 1,273,325 votes (16.41 percentage points).

FL Secretary of State

Notes: Sen. Marco Rubio (R), seeking a third term, defeated Rep. Val Demings (D). Also on the ballot were Dennis Misigoy (L), former Boynton Beach Mayor Steven B. Grant (NPA), and engineer and human rights advocate Tuan "TQ" Nguyen (NPA).

National politics entered into the race. On Sept. 13, in a risky move, Rubio signed on as a co-sponsor of Sen. Lindsey Graham's bill to establish a federal abortion ban at 15 weeks (>). President Joe Biden had been scheduled to make an appearance in Orlando on Sept. 27, but canceled due to Hurricane Ian. Biden surveyed hurricane damage and recovery efforts in an Oct. 5 visit. Biden campaigned for gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist and Demings at Florida Memorial University, a historically black university in Miami Gardens (north-central Miami-Dade County) on Nov. 1 (>). Former President Trump held a GOTV rally with Rubio at Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition in Miami on Nov. 6 (>).

Rubio and Demings participated in just one debate, on Oct 18 at Palm Beach State College's Lake Worth campus, organized by the Before You Vote coalition (>). The debate turned out to be a slanging match.

Rubio, who was 51 at the time of the general election, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 after serving eight years in the Florida House including two years as Speaker. He started in public service as a member of the West Miami City Commission in 1998. In 2015-16 he was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination (+). Rubio's father was a bartender and his mother "a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart."

Demings, who was 65 at the time of the general election, was serving her third term representing Orlando area FL-10 in the U.S. House. In 2020 she served as a House impeachment manager during the first impeachment trial of President Trump. Prior to her election to the House in 2016, Demings was a candidate for Orange County Mayor in 2014 and the Democratic nominee in FL-10 in 2012. Demings worked for the Orlando Police Department for 27 years starting in the early 1980s and finishing as chief in 2007-11. Demings' father was a janitor and her mother a maid. She launched her campaign in a June 9, 2021 video "Never Tire" (>).

The primaries, on Aug. 23, were among the latest of any state, but the outcome was not in doubt. A large field of candidates lined up to run; Politics1.com listed more than two dozen candidates including eight Republicans and ten Democrats as of early May 2022. The official qualifying period from June 13-17 pared the field significantly; Rubio was unopposed while Demings obtained 84% of the vote against three little known challengers.

Open Secrets (>) reports that as of Oct. 19, 2022, the Rubio campaign had raised $46.6 million, spent $42.7 million and had $4.1 million in cash on hand, while the Demings campaign had raised $72.3 million, spent $68.2 million and had $4.9 million in cash on hand.

This was expected to be one of the highest profile and most expensive races of the cycle, and, while an immense amount of money was raised and spent, Rubio seemed to be ahead from start to finish.

Campaign Manager:
Marco Rubio: Mark Morgan
(Mar. 2021) Deputy political director at the NRSC, Mar. 2019-Mar. 2021. Executive director at the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Dec. 2016-Feb. 2019. Wisconsin state director for the RNC, Nov. 2015-Nov. 2016, Policy analyst in the Office of Speaker Robin Vos, Jan.-Nov. 2015. Deputy political director at the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Nov. 2013-Jan. 2015. Legislative assistant to state Sen. Terry Moulton, Jan.-Oct. 2013. Northwest regional Victory director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, June-Dec. 2012. Mobile office director for U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (WI-7), June-Aug. 2011. Western field director on Duffy for Congress, Sept.-Nov. 2010. Studied economics, political science at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Val Demings: Zack Carroll
Campaign manager on Jaime Harrison for Senate in South Carolina, Apr. 2019-Nov. 2020. Campaign manager on Andy Kim for Congress (NJ), Aug. 2017-Dec. 2018. Campaign manager on Steven Jansen for Delegate (VA), Jan.-June 2017. Finance director on Bryan Caforio for Congress (CA), Dec. 2015-Nov. 2016. Finance director on John Bell for Delegate (VA), May-Nov. 2015. Deputy finance director on Mowrer for Iowa, June-Nov. 2014. Executive director of the DC Federation of College Democrats, May 2012-Feb. 2014. Staff assistant to U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (IL), Jan.-May 2013; also worked as an assistant on Duckworth's campaign, Apr.-Nov. 2012 and summer 2013. Field organizer for the Democratic Party of DuPage County, June-Nov. 2010. B.A. in international studies from American University, 2015.

See also:
Skyler Swisher. "'I would rather be right and lose an election.' Rubio stands firm on abortion ban as Democrats attack." Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 22, 2022.