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Exclusive: Among former law enforcement colleagues of Rep. Val Demings is the former Orlando Police Chief in a new ad by a Democratic congressman who is challenging Florida’s Republican Senator Marco Rubio in the November midterm elections. “We will never fund the police,” he stressed.
A digital spot first shared with Fox News on Thursday took Demings over a year to question her endorsement of police funding, where crime and law enforcement issues take center stage. is the latest effort to actively oppose Rubio’s efforts to High-profile, high-stakes, and expensive Florida Senate elections.
Retired Lieutenant Barbara Jones said in an ad, “The attack on Commissioner Demings for defunding the police — I can’t help but laugh.” I do not want reimbursement for
Orange County Sheriff John Mina emphasized “I have known Secretary Demings for decades. she hasn’t changed. The same person I know as the Chief of Police. She cannot question her commitment to public safety. “
Crime and Policing Key Issues in Florida’s High-Stake Senate Election
The spot’s release, which Deming’s team told Fox News, comes two weeks after Rubio’s campaign and is part of the campaign’s ongoing eight-figure ad blitz, which will run statewide. The National Republican Senate Committee launched a TV spot airing in several media markets in Florida introducing several sheriffs who criticized the House of Representatives who voted in unanimity with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. raised.
Rubio Targets Ex-Police Chief Demings for Crime
One of the sheriffs charged in the Rubio/NRSC commercial said, “Maybe she was a cop, but in Washington, Val Demings is just a radical rubber stamp.
Rubio, who is serving a third six-year term, has repeatedly targeted Demings for his 2020 comments on proposals to collect funds and transform the police force following the Minneapolis, Minnesota murders. did. A black George Floyd by a white police officer.
He also criticized Demings for advocating limited liability overhauls in the past. Disqualification is a legal doctrine that protects officers from lawsuits for what they do on the beat, but critics argue that it protects law enforcement from accountability. I supported George Floyd’s justice in the 2021 Sedition Act. This included a clause stripping the police of any eligible exemptions. The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House on party line, but was later defeated in the Senate.
Retired detective Eddie Lopez said in a new Demings spot in response to Rubio’s ad last month: to the chief of police. “
Check Out The Latest FOX NEWS 2022 Election Power Rankings
Retired police officer Renita Osselin urged Rubio to “Keep your opinion to yourself. Until you cross that line and become a police officer, you have no rights.” .
Demings, who spent nearly 30 years in law enforcement and was promoted to become Orlando’s first female police chief, put her crime-fighting resume in the spotlight with a commercial she launched in her campaign in June.
“The Senate will protect Florida from bad ideas like defunding the police. It’s just plain insanity,” she stressed in the ad. .
Rubio enjoys a high-single-digit lead in recent polls, but Demings is ahead of the incumbent. Her $12.5 million she earned in her June second quarter fundraising from April 2022 far surpassed her $4.5 million brought in by senators in the same three months. rice field.
Additionally, Demings has dipped into her war bucks with the campaign mentioning it spent $6 million in the second quarter to run TV ads. And she launched a spot three weeks ago when Demings criticized Rubio’s attendance record in the Senate.
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The Senate showdown between Rubio and Demings could be one of the most costly of the cycle.
Democrats face historic headwinds and a difficult political climate as they try to maintain their majority in the Senate, which they will hold in November. And Florida, once an election hotbed, has been leaning into the red lately. The top independent political handicap rates the Florida Senate election as Republican.