Demings raises $10M for Florida Senate bid

Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) raked in more than $10 million in the first three months of 2022 for her bid against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), her campaign announced on Wednesday.

The staggering eight-figure haul leaves her with more than $13.1 million in cash on hand — the largest war chest ever for a U.S. Senate challenger in Florida, according to her campaign. It also puts her total raised since launching her campaign last summer at more than $30 million.

Demings, a former Orlando police chief who was once considered as a potential running mate for President Biden, is the heavy favorite to win the Democratic nomination to take on Rubio in November. 

Still, she’s likely to face an uphill battle this year. Rubio is a well-known Republican incumbent in a state that has trended to the right in recent years. His campaign is also well-financed in its own right; he entered 2022 with nearly $10.6 million in the bank.

Demings, meanwhile, closed out 2021 with nearly $8.2 million in cash on hand, according to her most recent available filing with the Federal Election Commission.

It’s still early in the year, but polling since January has shown Rubio with a solid lead over Demings. A February survey from the University of North Florida put the incumbent senator ahead by 12 points, while another survey conducted that month by Mason Dixon Polling & Strategy showed Rubio with an 8-point lead.