Tuesday’s primary battle in Florida for the Senate, House of Representatives and the Interior is crucial for the future control of the federal Congress, especially for the duel between Republican challenger Rick Scott and Democrat Bill Nelson for a seat in the House. high.
According to a survey conducted last August 21 by Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Scott, current governor of the state, seems to have the wind in favor to maintain a lead of six percentage points over Nelson, which on Tuesday is unrivaled.
The poll gave Scott 45% of the vote intention, which is considered his victory in Tuesday’s primaries, compared to 39% of Nelson, a politician who has already turned 75, an age that could weigh against you in the adjudication of the seat.
However, the Democrats are confident that the political climate potentially favorable to this formation will ultimately give the victory to Senator Nelson over Scott, who with his million-dollar investment in this campaign may jeopardize the Democrats’ objective of winning the federal Senate. .
“In spite of how immensely rich Scott is, we have never doubted that Nelson will win, even though Scott spends tens of millions of dollars on attacks with false ads (campaign), Nelson is in a very strong position,” the leader said recently. Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
But the Republican Party seems to enthusiastically endorse the career of 65-year-old Scott, who took office in Florida in 2011 and has since maintained an image as a politician with sensitivity to the Hispanic community and his vote.
In fact, Scott hopes to wrest the seat from Democrat Nelson with the help of Hispanic voters: it is estimated that more than a million Hispanics will participate in Florida’s primary election.
A poll released last week by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) anticipates the participation of 1,004,000 Latino voters in these primaries, an increase of 12.6% compared to the November 2014 elections.
The Hispanic community, which comprises more than one in six registered voters in Florida (17%), “is ready to play a key role in the 2018 primary and general elections,” said NALEO.
In this context, Nelson has focused mainly on immigration issues, such as the reunification of children separated from their parents on the border with Mexico as part of President Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy towards illegal immigration, as well as criticism. to the elimination of Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for Haitians and Central Americans.
Meanwhile, the current governor of Florida does not seem to have caused any wear and tear on incumbents in some media in which he was accused of conflict of interest and a lukewarm record in the fight against global warming.
Regarding mourning for the Interior, the Republican Ron DeSantis has capitalized on the support of US President Donald Trump, and leads by 12 percentage points (39%) to his closest rival, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, in second place (27%), according to a survey conducted between the past 23 and 25 August by the independent company Gravis.
In the Democratic ranks, Gwen Graham, daughter of former Florida Governor Bob Graham (1979-1987), leads the Interior with 26%, followed by former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, with 18%.
The seat of the Cuban-American Republican congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who announced the resignation of her seat last year, is also at stake in these primaries.
For the 27th district, in the hands of Ros-Lethinen, who did not run for reelection, there are fifteen registered candidates, among them the Cuban-American journalist María Elvira Salazar and the daughter of the popular Cuban singer Willy Chirino, Angie, both Republicans.
The Democrats have Donna Shalala, former president of the University of Miami (UM) and the Clinton Foundation and state representative David Richardson.
Another of the contests of interest is that of the 26th district, where Congressman Carlos Curbelo, considered a moderate Republican and who will have a rival from his own party, although he is expected to win the elections.
Later it would have to face in this district that Hillary Clinton won in the presidential elections of 2016 with the retired military Demetries Grimes or Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, both democrats.
