Florida Rep Val Demings has decided to run for U.S. Senate instead of governor in an attempt to unseat Sen Marco Rubio.
For months she was considering where she could do the most good as a big name Democrat candidate, but decided the best fit was for the U.S. Senate.
Demings, 64, was first elected to the House in 2016 from Orlando and held the distinction of being the city’s first Black woman police chief. She rose to national prominence as the only non-lawyer on the first House impeachment committee to charge President Donald Trump with wrongdoing. As a Black woman and law enforcement officer, her background made her uniquely situated to be a national Democratic spokesperson for policing and race issues — it helped catapult her to President Joe Biden’s shortlist as a possible running mate in 2020.
A top Demings adviser compared her to Rubio like this: “She’s the daughter of a maid and a janitor who became the first Black woman police chief in Orlando. He’s the son of a maid and a bartender who’s a career politician.”
Demings, while critical of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, said she became more frustrated with GOP obstruction in the Senate. There is some wiggle room for her to change her mind, the adviser says she is “98.6 percent” decided.
You might remember Demings “striking a nerve” with Rep Jim Jordan.
See more at Politico.