Debbie Mucarsel-Powell says she’s challenging Republican Sen. Rick Scott because Florida has become unaffordable

The only Latina running for a U.S. Senate seat this November is working to overcome a Republican incumbent in a state that has grown increasingly conservative by emphasizing her moderate positions on various issues, including Latin America policy.

Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Democrat, is highlighting the struggles faced by families across Florida, drawing on her personal experiences. Her mother lives with her, and her 24-year-old daughter was recently residing with her as well, due to the soaring cost of housing in Florida.

These everyday challenges are motivating Mucarsel-Powell to take on Sen. Rick Scott, a well-financed Republican seeking his second term in a state that has shifted further to the right in recent years.

A recent poll by the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida showed Scott leading Mucarsel-Powell by 4 points, within the margin of error and in line with other polls indicating a single-digit lead for Scott. Despite this, Mucarsel-Powell faces a tough battle in a state where Republicans have been dominant in recent elections.

Early voting for Florida’s Aug. 20 primaries is already underway, with Mucarsel-Powell and Scott facing minimal competition for their party nominations.

During a June visit to a café in an upscale Miami-Dade suburb, Mucarsel-Powell outlined her plans to help reduce the cost of living for Floridians. She aims to lower prescription prices and property insurance rates, and advocate for increased use of solar panels.

“Seniors have to go back to work because they can’t afford to pay for their property insurance rates, students can’t afford to have the education they want because of the cost of living,” she stated.

At 53, Mucarsel-Powell made history as the first Ecuadorian American and the first South American-born member of Congress. She emigrated from Ecuador at 14, with her mother working as a house cleaner upon arrival. Mucarsel-Powell assisted her mother, and her father was a victim of gun violence in Ecuador.

After a single term in Congress, Mucarsel-Powell lost her seat to Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez in 2020. She then joined the gun violence prevention organization Giffords, founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Currently, only one Latina has been elected to the U.S. Senate: Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. Mucarsel-Powell is considered the underdog in this challenging race, according to Eduardo Gamarra, a political science professor and pollster at Florida International University.

Republicans hold a majority in Florida’s registered voters, making Mucarsel-Powell’s campaign particularly challenging, Gamarra noted. Scott, 71, benefits from substantial name recognition, having served eight years as governor. He won both gubernatorial races with less than 50% of the vote and secured a narrow victory for the Senate in 2018 by about 10,000 votes. As the wealthiest senator, Scott has the means to self-finance his campaign, having contributed nearly $14 million of his own funds through July. In 2018, Scott spent approximately $63 million to defeat Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.

Mucarsel-Powell is promoting herself as a bipartisan candidate, with GovTrack noting her voting record as “purple,” indicating a mix of votes with both Democrats and Republicans. However, Scott’s campaign disputes this characterization.

“Debbie Mucarsel-Powell went to Congress for one term, voted 100% of the time with Nancy Pelosi, 94% with Ilhan Omar, and 93% with AOC before the voters fired her,” Scott’s campaign spokesman, Will Hampson, wrote in an emailed statement. “She has been silent on our open border, big spending she voted for that has caused inflation crushing Floridians. … She is a socialist with nothing to run on, so she’s forced to lie about Rick Scott. It’s sad and Florida voters will reject her in November, if she wins her primary.”

For years, Republicans have labeled state and national Democrats as “socialists,” drawing comparisons to left-wing leaders from countries like Venezuela and Cuba, in an effort to appeal to Florida’s large Latin American voter base.

Mucarsel-Powell has challenged this label and distanced herself from some of President Joe Biden’s Latin America policies. She criticized the administration’s decision to remove Cuba from the list of countries that do not fully cooperate against terrorism.

Florida has shifted to the right recently, moving from a battleground state. According to two recent polls, former President Donald Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris by an average of 8.5 points in Florida, a state Biden won by about 3% in 2020.

The November elections will test the standing of Florida Democrats following major losses in the midterms. Gov. Ron DeSantis won re-election by a landslide, becoming the first Republican governor to win heavily Hispanic Miami-Dade County since 2002. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio also won re-election in 2022 by more than 16%.

A focus on abortion rights

Mucarsel-Powell is making abortion rights a central issue in her campaign.

“It’s a health care issue. It’s a civil rights issue,” she stated, emphasizing that the decision should be made privately between a woman and her doctor.

Florida has recently enacted a six-week abortion ban. With nearby states passing similar bans, the closest state offering abortion beyond six weeks is North Carolina, where it’s legal up to 12 weeks. Virginia, the next closest state, permits abortions up to 26 weeks. Scott has expressed support for replacing the six-week ban with a 15-week ban.

In November, Floridians will vote on whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. The proposed amendment seeks to prohibit restrictions on abortion before fetal viability, approximately 24 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for the patient’s health beyond that point, as determined by the healthcare provider.

To pass, Florida ballot measures need 60% support, requiring backing from both Democrats and Republicans. Some abortion rights advocates argue against politicizing the issue.

“It’s not political. It shouldn’t be political. But there is one party that has been politicizing it by taking away that right and that freedom,” Mucarsel-Powell said, adding that the six-week ban “happened at the state legislature with a supermajority, which is a Republican supermajority. That’s a fact. That’s not politicizing it.”

She also noted that Scott voted against a bill to prohibit states from imposing restrictions on IVF treatments and their affordability while running an ad supporting IVF. Scott responded by saying he supports state protections for IVF, not federal ones.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are vocal advocates for abortion rights and access to IVF and fertility treatments, making the issue a campaign priority.

According to Gamarra, Harris’s influence could boost Mucarsel-Powell’s campaign, but it may not provide the substantial lift needed in a state that leans heavily Republican.