Politico: “Demings’ fundraising haul provided a sudden burst of hope to Florida’s beleaguered Democrats, who reveled at the idea of a cash-flush Senate nominee whose star power sparked the imagination of Democrats across the country. The problem, however, is that the recent road to the Senate is littered with Democratic candidates whose talent for minting money from national online donors masked weakness back home.”

“Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) raked in $8.4 million during the last three months for her U.S. Senate campaign — more than any candidate has raised at this stage of a Senate campaign in Florida history,” Florida Politics reports.

A new poll from St. Pete Polls gives Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) a lead of 48% to 46% over Rep. Val Demings (D) for his Senate seat.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D), who is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) next year, told CNN that she does not support a statewide mask mandate as the Florida emerges as the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) raised $4.6 million in her first quarter of fundraising for a U.S. Senate bid, Florida Politics reports.

“Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) raised $1 million for her nascent Senate bid in the day after she announced that she plans to challenge Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in 2022,” The Hill reports.

“The $1 million figure is staggering for a candidate, especially in a year without any regularly scheduled federal elections.”

Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) officially launched her campaign to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) next year, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Rubio has tried to get ahead of Demings’ expected announcement by going on the attack: “None of them will admit to being a socialist. She probably won’t. But she certainly has voted for socialist things.”

Ashley Daniels and Pearl Dowe: “We expect Demings will have a good chance, given her strong fundraising history and her connection to Black female voters in community and civic organizations. Our research finds that Black women’s organizations are critical in mobilizing support and votes.”

“When a statewide Democratic candidate takes full advantage of these networks, engaging regularly with Black female voters, that constituency can give her a competitive edge — at times enough to win historically Republican states.”

“That’s what we saw in 2017, when Doug Jones won the U.S. Senate race in Alabama, backed by Black women. And it’s what we saw when both Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won the 2021 Senate runoffs in Georgia.”

Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) won’t run for U.S. Senate, a decision that was sealed after fellow Florida Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) signaled recently she will likely challenge incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Politico reports.

Said Murphy: “The reality is that Marco Rubio will not be an easy opponent especially if it’s on the heels of a bruising primary where Democrats spend millions attacking each other.”

Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) “was the highest spending elected official on Facebook ads last week, throwing down $100k+ on fundraising ads ahead of an expected U.S. Senate campaign launch,” FWIW reports.

“Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) decision to run for U.S. Senate next year may scare off some candidates, but Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) is not one of them,” Florida Politics reports.

“Sources familiar with Murphy’s decision-making say the Central Florida Democrat believes she has the same upsides as Demings — and more.”

Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) plans to run for U.S. Senate against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in 2022, CNN reports.

Politico: “For months, Demings mulled which statewide office to pursue, but decided she could do the most good by taking on the two-term senator.”

This race will be epic, though Demings will have to get past Rep. Stephanie Murphy in the Democratic primary first.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) is planning to announce a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Florida against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in early June, Axios reports.

“Murphy is a proven fundraiser. Jumping in now would give her an early start to build her case for the Democratic nomination and potentially force Rubio and allied GOP groups to spend heavily to retain a seat in a state that’s trending Republican.”

A new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida finds 46% of voters think Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) should be reelected in 2022, while 40% don’t.

No major Democrat has emerged to run against him, so the poll could only cite “a Democrat” as an alternative.

Interestingly, Florida voters give President Joe Biden an upside down approval rate, 47% to 49%.

“Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) is seriously considering a bid to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) 2022 reelection, announcing Wednesday that she’s launching a statewide listening tour and has hired a top Democratic operative to manage the effort,” Politico reports.

“Murphy, 42, has been elected three times to one of Florida’s most competitive congressional districts in Orlando, and first won the seat by knocking out 12-term incumbent GOP Rep. John Mica when few thought she could. It was a giant-killer act that Democrats hope she can repeat if she takes on Rubio, widely seen as a hard-to-beat incumbent.”

Ivanka Trump told Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) last month that she would not mount a primary challenge to his reelection bid in 2022, the New York Times reports.

“The discussion of whether Ms. Trump would seek the Senate seat in the battleground state came as her sister-in-law, Lara Trump, has let it be known that she was thinking of running for the U.S. Senate from her native state of North Carolina. But people briefed on the discussions said that Lara Trump is also unlikely to run.”