Incumbent Rick Scott (R), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D), and four other candidates are running in Florida’s U.S. Senate election on November 5, 2024.
TIME Magazine’s Nik Poli wrote the race was “a potential dark horse of the 2024 cycle,” and University of Central Florida professor Aubrey Jewett said, “Florida could be decisive in helping to decide control of the U.S. Senate.”
Scott was first elected in 2018, defeating incumbent Bill Nelson (D) 50.1% to 49.9%. Scott served as governor from 2011 to 2019. Scott’s website says he “is currently running for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2024 to continue fighting for Florida families, hold the Washington establishment and Democrats accountable, and rescue America from the destruction caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats.” If re-elected, Scott says he intends to run to be the next GOP leader after Mitch McConnell (R) steps down and says, “Over the years, the Senate has become the place where change oriented conservative policies come to die, and I believe now is the time to change that.” Scott has criticized Mucarsel-Powell as extreme and said, “The most radical socialist ticket of my lifetime – Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell – seeks to fundamentally destroy the promise of freedom in America for generations to come.”
Mucarsel-Powell is a former U.S. Representative for Florida’s 26th Congressional District. She is campaigning on lowering costs. In her responses to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection, Mucarsel-Powell said, “I would push legislation to lower home insurance rates by 25%, expand the Child Tax Credit to help over 1 million Florida families, and fight against the corporate consolidation of big grocery chains that drive up prices.” Mucarsel-Powell has also campaigned for increased abortion access, saying she is “very much in favor of pausing the filibuster and voting for a woman’s right to choose to codify Roe v. Wade.” Mucarsel-Powell called Scott “extreme, he’s dangerous, he’s done nothing to help us to reduce costs for families…He’s the poster child for extremism, I would say, in the Senate.”
Two ballot measures, Amendment 3, which would legalize marijuana statewide and Amendment 4, are major issues in Florida elections in 2024. Powell supports both amendments and says, “People are really motivated to change Florida…With women coming out to vote, with these two amendments bringing them out, with independents being really engaged, that’s going to cross the line.” Scott opposes both amendments and criticized Amendment 4, saying, “I think the Democrats are, I believe, extreme on this. They support abortion up until the moment of birth, they support allowing a healthy baby born alive to die just by leaving him in the corner.” To read more about the two ballot measures, click here. To read more about other ballot measures in Florida, click here.
Feena Bonoan (L), Ben Everidge (No Party Affiliation), Howard Knepper (No Party Affiliation), and Tuan Nguyen (No Party Affiliation) are also running.
According to third-quarter fundraising reports, Scott raised $34.2 million and spent $33.7 million and Mucarsel-Powell raised $27.2 million and spent $23.2 million.
As of October 24, 2024, Decision Desk HQ rated the general election Lean Republican, and The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball and The Hill, rated it Likely Republican.
The outcome of this race will affect the partisan balance of the U.S. Senate in 2025.
Thirty-four of 100 seats are up for election, including one special election. Of the seats up for election in 2024, Democrats hold 19, Republicans hold 11, and independents hold four. As of September 2024, eight members of the U.S. Senate had announced they were not running for re-election, more than in any year since 2012.