With less than four weeks until the 2024 Election, Florida’s junior U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R) leads Democratic Candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by nine points, 49% – 40% in a recent New York Times/Siena poll. Scott, who served two terms as governor prior being elected to the senate in 2018, has name recognition advantage against Mucarsel-Powell, a former congresswoman who lost her re-election bid to the U.S. House.
Recent campaign ads exposed a lack of experience and diligence among the staff for Scott’s opponent. In one ad, Mucarsel-Powell’s references her experience earning minimum wage at her first job, and depicts Scott as a career politician with no connection to the lifestyle of blue collar workers. Should Scott’s campaign choose to directly reply, they could cite his first job working at a donut shop and his career in the NAVY, and his father’s career as a truck driver.
A new Marist poll showed the race much tighter with Scott leading Mucarsel-Powell by a smaller margin, 50% to 48%, but Scott has never trailed the race in any nationally recognized and respected poll.
One factor that could keep the race close than expected is Amendment 4, which would remove Florida’s regulations on abortions. Polls show Powell with a strong advantage among young women, but she must to expand her support among men to close the gap against Scott.