ORLANDO, Fla. – One of Florida’s two seats in the United States Senate is up for re-election this year. Republican incumbent Rick Scott and Democratic nominee Debbie Mucarsel-Powell both cruised to victory in their respective primaries and now face each other on the November ballot.
Scott has never run in a presidential election year when Democrats typically turn out in higher numbers. However, Republicans have taken a sizable lead in voter registration after decades of Democratic dominance. In 2022, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio won reelection by more than 16 percentage points over Val Demings and DeSantis by nearly 20 over Charlie Crist.
Meet the candidates for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat: Rick Scott (incumbent) and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
Rick Scott
Born: 1952 (age 71 years), Bloomington, IL
Party: Republican Party
Spouse: Ann Scott
Education: Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City, Southern Methodist University
Campaign website: https://rickscott.com/
After serving in the U.S. Navy, Rick Scott began his business career with two doughnut shops in Kansas City, Missouri, and eventually became CEO of the nation’s largest private hospital chain. He resigned from his position at Columbia/HCA before the company paid a $1.7 billion fine for Medicaid fraud.
Scott was elected Florida’s governor in 2010, defeating Democratic nominee and Florida’s CFO Alex Sink. He was re-elected in 2014, defeating former governor and Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist. Scott won both times with less than 50% of the vote.
He then ran for U.S. Senate in 2018, defeating Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson. He won by about 10,000 votes out of more than 8 million cast, with just over 50% of the vote.
Scott was picked to lead the GOP’s political efforts for the 2022 U.S. Senate races, a campaign that failed to capture a Republican majority.
Scott handily won Florida’s 2024 primary against two other opponents. He has to first win a second term in the U.S. Senate before reaching his larger goal — winning Senate leadership after retiring U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell steps down.
Scott currently serves on the Senate Homeland Security and Armed Services Committees. He is among the wealthiest people serving in the U.S. Senate.
Among Scott’s top issues are:
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Born: 1971 (age 53 years), Guayaquil, Ecuador
Party: Democratic Party
Spouse: Robert Powell
Education: Claremont Graduate University, Pitzer College
Campaign website: https://www.debbieforflorida.com/
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell was born in Ecuador and moved to Miami when she was 14. As a teenager, she lived in a one-bedroom apartment with her family and worked at a doughnut shop to help with expenses. She later worked with nonprofits and in higher education.
In 2016, she ran unsuccessfully against Republican incumbent State Sen. Anitere Flores for the Florida Senate.
Mucarsel-Powell narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Carlos Curbelo to win her only term in Congress in 2018, with just over 50% of the vote. She became the first Ecuadorian-American and South American-born woman elected to Congress, serving Florida’s 26th congressional district.
While in Congress, she served on the House Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.
Two years later, though, she lost to Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, relinquishing the seat that has switched parties several times in recent elections.
During her last unsuccessful bid for Congress, her campaign was dogged by criticism about her husband’s work for a company that reportedly had business dealings tied to Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, one of the wealthiest men in Ukraine who has been accused of fraud, bribery and hiring hitmen. Mucarsel-Powell has repeatedly dismissed criticism that her husband had ties to Kolomoisky.
Mucarsel-Powell won her 2024 primary election comfortably against three other candidates.
Among Mucarsel-Powell’s top issues are:
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Reducing High Costs and Inflation
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Protecting Social Security and Medicare
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Lowering the Cost of Health Care
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Protecting Clean Water and Our Environment
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National Security
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Protecting Women’s Rights to Healthcare and Abortion
Voter resources
Learning about candidates, their voting records, financing, and where they stand on key issues can be difficult to navigate. Below is a list of non-partisan websites to help you better understand how your views align with a candidate:
