Politico: “Florida Rep. Val Demings said she’s “seriously considering” a statewide bid against Sen. Marco Rubio or Gov. Ron DeSantis, boosting Democratic hopes in a battleground state that’s growing increasingly red.
Demings, a former Orlando police chief, rose to national prominence as a House impeachment manager and as a possible running mate for Joe Biden last year. State and national Democrats have urged her to challenge either DeSantis or Rubio, but she was relatively non-committal until she was asked Thursday about her potential candidacy.
“I’ve received so many calls and texts and emails, and have been stopped when I’m out and about by people who are asking me that very same question. Matter of fact, they think I should run for statewide office and maybe challenge the governor, or challenge Sen. Rubio next year,” she told POLITICO Thursday. “I’m seriously considering a statewide run. And we’ll see what happens.”
Though Demings didn’t mention DeSantis by name, those familiar with her thinking say she has been increasingly disturbed with his hard-right style of governance, including ananti-protest bill he recently signed into law.
As a former top police officer and a Black woman, Demings occupies a unique space in the nation’s political dialogue over race and policing…”