Marco Rubio Defeats Val Demings In Florida's U.S. Senate Race

Updated: 10:47 p.m., Tuesday

FLORIDA — Republican incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio defeated his Democratic challenger, U.S. House Rep. Val Demings, to win a third term in the U.S. Senate, the Associated Press reported Tuesday night.

He also faced three other candidates on Election Day: libertarian Dennis Misigoy, and Steven B. Grant and Tuan TQ Nguyen, who both ran with no party affiliation.

With Tuesday's results, he's the first Florida Republican to win three terms in the U.S. Senate, according to NBC News. He’s also the longest-serving Hispanic elected official in the state.

Following his win, Rubio shared a short video from his campaign with the words, "We got it done. Thank you, Florida."

In a Monday night tweet, the Miami native, predicted a “red wave” in Florida and across the U.S. on Tuesday.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, the senator said that Democrats would experience “crushing defeats” because “they have forgotten that the backbone of this country are men and women who get up every day and go to work and work eight to 12 hours with their hands.”

He added, “They’re telling these people that the (Paris Climate Accord) is more important than lower gas prices for them. They’re telling these people that giving people a third and a fifth chance who have committed crimes is more important than their safety and security. They’re telling people that being compassionate to people who are in our country illegally is more important than securing our border and keeping drugs off our streets.”

In her concession speech, Demings said Tuesday night that she had spoken with Rubio.

“I congratulated him and said to him that Florida is our home state and please continue to work hard for the place we call home, Florida,” she said. “You all know me, and I stand by the decision of the people. We are a government of the people, for the people and by the people.”

Polls closed at 7 p.m. in Florida.

REAL-TIME RESULTS FOR FLORIDA'S U.S. SENATOR RACE

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Be sure to refresh this page for the latest results. Can't see the widget below? Click here for all results from the Florida Division of Elections.

Recent polls ahead of Election Day put the GOP incumbent ahead of Demings.

A Nov. 1 InsiderAdvantage Fox 35 News exclusive poll with a 4.2-percent margin of error showed Rubio with a 6-point lead over Demings. Of those who participated in the poll, 51 percent said they would vote for Rubio if the election were to take place that day. Another 45 percent of respondents said they’d vote for Demings.

And a Data for Progress, which surveyed more than 1,200 voters between Oct. 19-23 and had a 3 percent margin of error, showed Rubio with a 7-point lead over his challenger. About 51 percent of those polled said they’d vote for him, while 44 percent said they supported Demings.

Since 2010, Rubio, a 51-year-old Miami native, born to Cuban immigrants, has represented Florida in the U.S. Senate.

According to his website, he has one guiding objective: “bring the American Dream back into the reach of those who feel it slipping away.”

Rubio has served on numerous committees during his time in Senate, including the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Appropriations Committee, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and the Special Committee on Aging. He also authored the Paycheck Protection Program for businesses impacted by COVID-19 and Americans out of work during the pandemic.

He ran for president in the 2016 elections, but dropped out in March of that year after coming in second to President Donald Trump in the Florida Republican primary, according to Ballotpedia.

Among his key issues are national security, immigration, health care, social issues and the economy.

Demings, 65, has served as a U.S. representative since 2017. Before this, the Jacksonville native served in the Orlando Police Department for 27 years. In 2007, she was named the agency’s first female chief of police, according to her website.

In the House, she currently works on the House Judiciary, Homeland Security and Intelligence committees.

Now, Demings is seeking to unseat Rubio in the U.S. Senate, writing on her campaign website, “I believe that only in America can a little Black girl, the daughter of a maid and a janitor, growing up in the south in the ’60s, have such an amazing opportunity. No one can make me give up on America.”

Among her primary issues are jobs and the economy, health care, housing, the environment, and public safety.